LOU DONALDSON BIO

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“My first impulse is always to describe Lou Donaldson
as the greatest alto saxophonist in the world.”
— Will Friedwald, New York Sun

Jazz critics agree that “Sweet Poppa Lou” Donaldson was one of the greatest alto saxophonists of all time. His musicianship, humor, and showmanship earned him international accolades as a performer with a worldwide following.

Lou’s first jazz recordings were with the Charlie Singleton Orchestra in 1950. He then gained national attention after Alfred Lion, co-founder of Blue Note Records, heard him play at Minton’s Playhouse in 1952 and invited him to record for his label. Recording initially as a sideman with the Milt Jackson Quartet (later the Modern Jazz Quartet) and the Thelonious Monk Sextet, Lou also made recordings with Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, and Art Blakey, recordings that are considered some of the first in the hard bop genre. He was instrumental in bringing Brown and Silver to Blue Note, and as a bandleader for most of his career, Lou gave about 50 legendary musicians their debut sessions with Blue Note. Included in this prestigious group are: Grant Green, Blue Mitchell, John Patton, Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, Charles Earland, Stanley Turrentine, Tommy Turrentine, Horace Parlan, George Tucker, Al Harewood, Lamon Jackson, Baby Face Willette, Idris Muhammad (formerly known as Leo Morris), Jamil Nasser (formerly known as George Joyner), Ray Barretto, Herman Foster, Peck Morrison, Dave Bailey, and the 3 Sounds ― who were personally scouted by Lou.

Lou made a series of records for Blue Note in the 50’s that have become classics, and in the early 60’s he made some excellent recordings for Cadet and Argo Records. Lou’s return to Blue Note in 1967 was marked by one of his most famous recordings, Alligator Bogaloo. A prolific songwriter and performer, he boasts an impressive catalog of 88 titles or more. Lou spent years touring and while on the road, he featured an organ-saxophone format exclusively. This led to an invitation for Lou to play on Jimmy Smith’s seminal recording, The Sermon. Lou employed a variety of great organists, including Lonnie Smith (along with George Benson on Lou’s acclaimed Alligator Boogaloo), Jack McDuff, Charles Earland, Leon Spencer, Pat Bianchi, and Akiko Tsuruga. The organ-sax groove sound — which Lou called “swinging bebop” — made jazz as popular as it had been during the swing era for a while. His hits on Blue Note Records are still high demand favorites, and he remains the label’s oldest living musician from that notable era of jazz.

Lou was born on November 1, 1926 — the second of 4 children born to father, Louis Sr., a minister and graduate of Livingstone College, and mother, Lucy, a graduate of Cheney University. Lucy was a music teacher, music director and concert pianist who recognized Lou’s expert ear for music and introduced him to the clarinet. At age 15, he matriculated to North Carolina A&T College in Greensboro NC, where he was a member of the marching band playing clarinet. His education was interrupted by World War II when in 1945 he was drafted and entered the United States Navy. Lou played clarinet and then alto saxophone when he was accepted into the Great Lakes Navy Band. While in the Navy, Lou took liberty in Chicago on several occasions and, after hearing Charlie Parker, embraced this style of playing and made the saxophone his instrument. He went on to develop his own sound, becoming known for his sweet ballads and earning him his famed nickname ― “Sweet Poppa Lou,” an honorific first bestowed upon him by renowned jazz producer and broadcaster Bob Porter.

When Lou was released from the Navy, he returned to Greensboro to complete his studies and received a Bachelor of Science degree in May 1948. His thesis titled The Change from Swing to Bebop was incorporated into a book that is required reading for students completing the music major program. In 1972, his alma mater established the Lou Donaldson Award for Excellence in Instrumental Performance, awarded to the most gifted jazz musician pupil. While in college, Lou played club dates throughout North Carolina with the Rhythm Vets, a combo that consisted of NC A & T alumni who were Navy veterans. They recorded the soundtrack to the musical comedy titled Pitch a Boogie Woogie in Greenville, NC in 1947. He also had the valuable opportunity to hear and sometimes sit in with many famous touring bands that would come through Greensboro several times a year. All were impressed with Lou’s playing and Illinois Jacquet and members of Dizzy Gillespie’s band, in particular, advised him to move to New York to propel his career. Lou took the advice of these luminaries and moved to New York in late 1949 where he attended the Darrow Institute of Music. He lived in Harlem at 127th Street and 8th Avenue in the heart of New York’s jazz scene with his new wife, Maker, his longtime sweetheart from Albemarle, North Carolina. She remained his wife and business partner for 56 years until her death in 2006. Together they raised two daughters, Lydia and Carol. In New York, Lou got to hear all the celebrated jazz musicians of the day and was proud to have had the opportunity to play with many of them, including his idol Charlie Parker. He later moved the family to the Bronx, New York. There he penned many of his tunes that remain acclaimed classics today. In 1963, he moved to “The Valley” neighborhood in the Bronx where up-and-coming rappers who lived there were inspired by his soul-jazz, jazz-funk tunes and call “The Valley” their music’s birthplace. Lou’s music has been sampled many times. Because of the success of his career, working as a professional musician was the only job Lou ever had and totally enabled him to support his family and put his children through college. He continued to delight audiences around the world with his soulful, thoroughly swinging, and steeped-in-the-blues performances until after his 90th birthday, retiring to Florida in later years.

Lou’s outstanding contributions to jazz and his consistent promotion of the success of fellow musicians and the genre brought him countless honors and awards. He received the Charlie “Bird” Parker Memorial Medal in 1975 from the Charlie Parker Foundation. Lou was responsible for helping to establish the Foundation in Kansas City under the direction of Eddie Baker, now deceased. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree by his alma mater, now North Carolina A & T University, in 1982. Lou was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996, and in 2001 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame as a recipient of the esteemed Jay McShann Lifetime Achievement Award. He was recognized by the United States Navy Naval Training Center Commander in 2003 as one of the first 5000 African Americans allowed to serve our country as Navy Musicians instead of being restricted to the Steward’s Branch as was previously required due to segregation. In 2012, Lou was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and that same year he received the Fine Arts Award from the State of North Carolina ― the state’s highest award bestowed upon civilians. In 2013, he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts ― our nation’s highest honor in jazz. Then in 2022, the North Carolina Department of Transportation named the section of NC Highway 740 that runs through his birthplace and childhood hometown ― Badin, North Carolina ― “Lou Donaldson Boulevard.”
Lou continued to receive accolades from fans worldwide after he retired who called and wrote tributes about how much they loved listening to his recordings. Jazz journalists expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to talk to the jazz legend and document his lifetime achievements. Lou was proud to have written his still unpublished autobiography about his unique experiences as a musician, bandleader, and businessman, including his unabashed criticisms about the music business and insightful commentaries about jazz – America’s “classical music.”

As a coda to a “A Wonderful Life” as he titled his autobiography, Lou was inducted into the Jazz at Lincoln Center Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame on October 30, 2024, 2 days before his 98th birthday. He died on November 9, 2024 in Daytona Beach, FL.

LOU DONALDSON
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