Legendary alto saxophonist, composer, NEA Jazz Master, and Blue Note legend Lou Donaldson passed away on Saturday at the age of 98. His family announced his death.
Donaldson was born in North Carolina on November 1, 1926. His mother knew early on that he would be a talented musician. Lou's early style was deeply influenced by Charlie Parker, though he soon developed his own distinctive soulful and bluesy sound on the alto saxophone.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Donaldson moved to New York City in 1950 and soon made in-roads into the city’s vibrant jazz scene. Blue Note founder Alfred Lion was impressed after hearing Donaldson perform at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem and began inviting him into the Blue Note fold where he would be a key player at several pivotal moments in Blue Note history, becoming a catalyst for many of the directions that the label would take and introducing many future Blue Note artists in his bands.
Jazz Night in America host and eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride went to Florida in 2019 for a special edition of the show. (excerpt at the top of this article). McBride called Donaldson as a hip and funky instrumentalist and composer who road the wave of Hard Bop with Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey to the forefront of a more soulful approach to the music. McBride called Lou the "Don Rickles of Jazz" because he says Donaldson always made people move, groove and laugh.
Donaldson’s first-ever record date on April 7, 1952 was as a sideman on Milt Jackson’s Blue Note debut featuring John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke (that foursome would go on to become the Modern Jazz Quartet). The following month Lion had Donaldson back in the studio as part of the Thelonious Monk Sextet for another foundational bebop date.
Donaldson's take on ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ was a crossover moment for the musician, while albums such as Alligator Boogaloo helped to define soul-jazz as a form.
Donaldson officially retired before the pandemic and his final onstage appearance was in 2021. The NEA Jazz Master lives on in the music played on WBGO. He will be greatly missed.
You can hear the entire JNIA 2019 interview with Lou Donaldson here.
