Lou Donaldson

Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson emerged as a fledgling adherent of bebop, a music he discovered while in Navy training outside Chicago, but his career was built on the soul jazz recordings he made for Blue Note in the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Badin, North Carolina, in 1926, he didn’t play professionally until after World War II, when he worked with R&B groups in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1950 he moved to New York City, where within two years he was working as a sideman for the likes of pianist Thelonious Monk and vibraphonist Milt Jackson, both key bebop figures. His long association with Blue Note began in 1952 as leader and sideman, with appearances on such albums as Art Blakey’s 1954 A Night at Birdland, widely considered one of the first hard bop recordings. While Donaldson’s earliest work was influenced by Charlie Parker, as the ’50s evolved he became an early proponent of soul jazz, working with Hammond B-3 players like Big John Patton. Until his retirement in 2018 Donaldson maintained an active performing and recording practice, blending his mastery of bebop, soul jazz, and boogaloo with a keen vaudevillian sense of humor. Donaldson passed away in 2024 at the age of 98.