JAZZ NOTES: Lou Donaldson, the soul jazz master, dies at 98
Lou Donaldson — a preeminent alto saxophonist whose style as a disciple of Charlie Parker was steeped in traditional bebop with encompassing tones of blues and funk — died on Nov. 9, in Daytona Beach, Florida at his senior citizens' residential home. He was 98.
His death was confirmed by his grandson Daniel Tutt. No cause was given. Donaldson had just celebrated his 98th birthday on Oct. 30 (birth date was Nov. 1), at Dizzy's jazz club which was an annual celebration. Although he did not attend, he was on speakerphone to hear the sold-out audience sing a hearty "Happy Birthday!"
The celebration also included his induction into the Jazz at Lincoln Center Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame . In 2012, he was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and was named a NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. His alma mater North Carolina A&T University awarded him the honorary doctorate of letters and a scholarship was established in his name that is awarded to the most gifted jazz musician at the University each year.
In 2022 the North Carolina Department of Transportation named a five-mile section of N.C. Highway 740 — Lou Donaldson Boulevard runs through his birthplace and childhood hometown, Badin, North Carolina.
Donaldson was an onstage personality: always impeccably dressed, he displayed showmanship, exceptional musicianship, and humor; he was the Redd Foxx of jazz. Upon coming to the stage, he announced in his defined high gravel voice, "No hip-hop, no fusion, no confusion, just straight ahead and bebop." His solos were warm as a midnight kiss, so sweet, a radio DJ gave him the name "Sweet Poppa Lou." "You can't play jazz without playing the blues," Donaldson once told me.
During the 1950s when the organ groove was happening in Harlem, Donaldson recorded on Jimmy Smith's groundbreaking album "The Sermon!" (Blue Note 1959). That led Donaldson to implement the organ-saxophone format, bringing together organist John Patton, trumpeter Bill Hardman, guitarist Grant Green and drummer Ben Dixon. He went on to employ a host of great organists that included his long collaborative relationship with Dr. Lonnie Smith that continued to the organist's transition (along with George Benson on Donaldson's bestselling album "Alligator Bogaloo"), Jack McDuff, and Akiko Tsuruga (protégé of Dr. Smith). Donaldson referred to the organ-sax groove as "swinging bebop."
He recorded two albums for Blue Note in 1968 "Mr. Shing-A-Ling" and "Midnight Creeper," the lineup for the latter was the same as "Alligator Bogaloo," with Donaldson only switching out cornet player Melvin Lastin Sr. for trumpeter Blue Mitchell. He kept the winning rhythm section of Smith on organ, Leo Morris alias Idris Muhammad on drums, and a 25-year-old George Benson on guitar. The result was another acclaimed jazz-funk adventure with bluesy ballads and bebop rivets that captured a younger audience.
He recorded one of his most famous albums "Blues Walk" (Blue Note 1958), which is still selling today, featuring pianist Herman Foster, bassist Peck Morrison, percussionist Ray Barretto and drummer Dave Bailey.
"Sweet Papa" Lou Donaldson, though slight in stature, was a giant of a man on and off the stage," said Sheila Anderson of WBGO jazz radio. "He was also a teacher where each conversation with Lou was a history lesson. and he had a great, wicked, sense of humor." Louis A. Donaldson, Jr. was born in Badin, North Carolina on Nov. 1, 1926. The second of four children, his mother Lucy Wallace Donaldson was a first-grade teacher and musical director at Badin High School, a concert pianist, and graduate of Cheyney University. His father Louis Andrew Donaldson, Sr., was a graduate of Livingstone College, an AME Zion minister, and insurance agent.
When young Donaldson was about nine years old, his mother noticed his innate music ability and got him a clarinet from the band director Leo Gabriel at the Alcoa Aluminum Plant Band. He eventually mastered the instrument, but he was still interested in becoming an attorney due to his father's interest in politics and the lessons learned from his parents living in a segregated society.
At age 15, in 1942, Donaldson attended North Carolina A&T University where he received a bachelor of science degree and joined the marching band playing clarinet. After being drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1945 (despite his asthma problem), he played in the Great Lakes Navy Band where, when playing for dances, he played the alto saxophone. During his trips into Chicago to see various bands, he eventually saw Charlie Parker perform and immediately became drawn to his playing style, and wanted to make it his own. "Once I saw Charlie Parker play, I forgot about the clarinet, the way he played was so dynamic. I began focusing solely on my alto," wrote Donaldson in his unpublished autobiography "A Wonderful Life."
Upon returning from the military, he resumed his studies at North Carolina A&T, and played in the dance band led by saxophonist Billy Tolles. The touring bands of Count Basie, Buddy Johnson, and Andy Kirk came through Greensboro periodically and the A&T band members made sure they were in attendance to sit in with these famous bands. The band members often told them to visit New York, but Donaldson was too involved with playing on the baseball team to leave. He loved the sport and had hopes of making the major leagues, but an unfortunate accident on the field prompted him to pursue his music career.
Donaldson did venture to New York City in 1949. He found an apartment on 127th Street and 8th Avenue and enrolled in the Darrow Institute of Music. "Although I had a college degree, I still earned another degree, the '125th Street PhD.,'" he noted in his autobiography. While at the school, he played small clubs like Harlem's Baby Grand and Brooklyn's Coronet.
In 1950, he married Maker Neale Turner, his longtime sweetheart from Albemarle, North Carolina, who remained his wife and business partner for 56 years until her death in 2006. Together they raised two children — Lydia Tutt-Jones (died 1994) was a nurse, and Dr. E. Carol Webster, clinical psychologist and author (residing in Daytona Beach, Fla.) Alfred Lion, co-founder of Blue Note Records , heard Donaldson playing at Minton's Playhouse and invited him to record for his label, and suggested he make a Charlie Parker-type record. For that project in 1952, he played with the Milt Jackson Quartet that featured bassist Percy Heath, pianist John Lewis, and drummer Kenny Clarke which blossomed into the Modern Jazz Quartet. He then recorded with the same unit with Lewis being replaced by Thelonious Monk as the Thelonious Monk Quintet. Donaldson's first recording as a leader included pianist Horace Silver , bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Art Taylor that was part of Blue Note's "New Faces — New Sounds" series. That was followed with the Lou Donaldson/Clifford Brown Quintet.
Donaldson's presence at Blue Note also allowed him to bring such great musicians to the label as Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Horace Parlan, Tommy Turrentine, Horace Silver, Al Harewood, George Tucker, Jamil Nasser, and Curtis Fuller.
In 1954, he participated in one of the first live recordings (in jazz history) at Manhattan's Birdland jazz club. The configuration featured Brown, Silver, bassist Curly Russell and drummer Art Blakey. It was recorded by the master sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder. The group was called the Blue Note All-Stars but at some point it became the Art Blakey Quintet, to Donaldson's chagrin. These sessions yielded the "A Night at Birdland" albums (three Volumes Blue Note) that are now collectors' items. He continued to record intermittently for Blue Note until 1980, and many of his bluesy bebop riffs were introduced to new generations in hip-hop sampling.
"When you say jazz, you're not supposed to judge a person on how much training they've had or how much knowledge they have. You have to base it on playing only!" wrote Donaldson in his autobiography.
He officially announced his retirement from performing in 2018, at the age of 92, although he did appear at Dizzy's on his 96th birthday in 2022 and returned for his 97th. Aside from his daughter, Donaldson is survived by his son-in-law Charles Webster (Daytona Beach, Fla.); sister Elizabeth Pauline Page (Hampton, VA.); sister-in-law Anita Donaldson (Virginia Beach, VA); granddaughter Tracy Webster, Esq. and spouse Derek Romich (Alpharetta, GA); grandson Daniel Tutt (Bronx, NY); and a host of nieces and nephews.
