A History Of Blue Note Records: 1952

The Lou Donaldson Quintet – November 19 1952

Leonard Feather – Liner Notes: Lou Donaldson – Quartet/Quintet/Sextet - BLP 1537 – February 1952

If I Love Again, the opening opus, is one of the quintet sides in which Blue Mitchell’s trumpet serves to complement Lou in a two-horn opening and closing ensemble. Mitchell is a trumpet player who has played with Earl Bostic and other rhythm-and-blues bands including Lou, keeping his talent somewhat obscured. Lou’s solo here set the pace for his work throughout the album; his tone known brassy and pinchy, in keeping with the mordant, swinging attack and the Bird-like conception and phrasing.

Down Home, an original 12-bar composition, shows that Lou, like many bop musicians (including Parker himself) has always kept faith with the blues, and with the real down-home blues, as this title makes self-evident. He even starts his last chorus here with the “my-mama-done-told me” phrase that has become almost a basic blues statement.

The Best Things in Life Are Free, a standard recently brought back to prominence by the movie of the same title, exemplifies Lou’s approach to old pop songs: after outlining the melody with only slight variations in the first chorus, his improvisational talent reaches its peak in the second. At least, the second chorus here is the passage that happens to impress me most, though the quality and variety of his work is so impressive overall that there will probably be many different “favorite” solos among the fans who listen to this remarkable session.

Sweet Juice is a Horace Silver original with a cloudy, reflective quality into which Lou instills considerable added charm with one of his more restrained performances.

Lou Donaldson biography – Scott Yanow

https://www.bluenote.com/artist/lou-donaldson/

Lou Donaldson has long been an excellent bop altoist influenced by Charlie Parker, but with a more blues-based style of his own. His distinctive tone has been heard in a variety of small-group settings, and he has recorded dozens of worthy and spirited (if somewhat predictable) sets throughout the years.

Donaldson started playing clarinet when he was 15, soon switching to the alto. He attended college and performed in a Navy band while in the military. Donaldson first gained attention when he moved to New York and in 1952 started recording for Blue Note as a leader. At the age of 25, his style was fully formed, and although it would continue growing in depth through the years, Donaldson had already found his sound. In 1954, he participated in a notable gig with Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, and Tommy Potter that was extensively documented by Blue Note and that directly predated the Jazz Messengers. However, Donaldson was never a member of the Messengers, and although he recorded as a sideman in the ’50s and occasionally afterwards with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, and Jimmy Smith, among others, he has been a bandleader from the mid-’50s up until the present.

Donaldson’s early Blue Note recordings were pure bop. In 1958, he began often utilizing a conga player, and starting in 1961, his bands often had an organist rather than a pianist. His bluesy style was easily transferable to soul-jazz, and he sounded most original in that context. His association with Blue Note (1952-1963) was succeeded by some excellent (if now-scarce) sets for Cadet and Argo (1963-1966). The altoist returned to Blue Note in 1967 and soon became caught up in the increasingly commercial leanings of the label. For a time, he utilized an electronic Varitone sax, which completely watered down his sound. The success of “Alligator Boogaloo” in 1967 led to a series of less interesting funk recordings that were instantly dated and not worthy of his talent.

However, after a few years off records, Lou Donaldson’s artistic return in 1981 and subsequent soul-jazz and hard bop dates for Muse, Timeless, and Milestone have found the altoist back in prime form, interacting with organists and pianists alike and showing that his style is quite timeless.

Down Beat 3 June 1953 Volume 20 Issue 11

The pop song is done at a brisk pace, leaving room for ample amplification of its harmonic contours by Lou's alto and Blue Mitchell's trumpet. Down Home, as its title implies, is a slow 12-bar blues. Lou plays it with the warmth that boppers are so often, so wrongly, accused of lacking. Horace Silver and Mr. Mitchell also acquit themselves honorably. (Blue Note 1610)

Down Beat 23 September 1953 Volume 20 Issue 19

The soaring alto man in Cheek to Cheek, five-starred here earlier, with some handsome co-operation from pianist Horace Silver on this and seven others. Four are by a quintet, with Blue Mitchell’s trumpet. (Blue Note 5021)

Notes etc.

Blue Mitchell’s first Blue Note recording session