Alto sax great Lou Donaldson (b. 1926) caught live in Paris in 2004. One simply has to marvel at the stamina this man shows at the ripe age of 78! He's been around since the early 50s and played with everybody who's somebody in jazz including Milt Jackson, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk and of course, Art Blakey as a member of the first Jazz Messengers. In the beginning his style was very much influenced by Bird (as was everybody's for that matter), later on he changed to a more funky style being one of the first exponents of soul jazz with his mega hit "Alligator Boogaloo". Apart of this great tune, we get the chance to see Lou Donaldson get down and dirty with two smokin' blues numbers where he assumes the role of singer a la Howling Wolf, bebop all time favorite "Cherokee", and some of his funkier numbers like "Blues Walk". He is accompanied by organ legend Dr Lonnie Smith on hammond, Randy Johnston on guitar, and Fukushi Tanaka on brums. Perceptive viewers will no doubt notice Lou's great sense of humour alongside his affection for George Bush displayed whenever possible!
