The Lou Donaldson Quartet To Play The Jazz Bakery
Event:
Feb. 24th-26th, 2009
(8:00 pm, 9:30 pm)
Jazz Bakery
Culver City, CA
The Lou Donaldson Quartet will appear at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City February 24th-26th. Lou Donaldson, an alto sax player influenced by Charlie Parker but possessing a distinctive blues-based sound of his own, has worked with artists such as Milt Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter and Clifford Brown and has created a substantial body of work as a leader.
His current group includes Randy Johnston on guitar, Akiko Tsuruga on organ, and Fukushi Tainaka on drums. Performances at the Bakery will begin at 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm each night.
Artist Information:
Lou Donaldson, alto saxophonist, recording star and entertainer extraordinaire was born in Badin, North Carolina on November 1, 1926. He is the child of parents, Lucy Wallace Donaldson, mother, and Louis Andrew Donaldson, Sr., father. His mother was a first grade teacher at Badin High School, Musical Director at the school, and a concert pianist who was a graduate of Cheney University. His father was a graduate of Livingstone College, an AME Zion minister, and insurance agent.
Lou never studied piano because his mother had a switch that she would crack across the fingers when students missed a note. That turned him completely away from being a pianist. When he was about 9 years old, she heard him singing or humming all of the piano etudes that the students played and she took him aside and told him that he had more musical talent than anyone in the family and that he needed to play some type of instrument.
She got a clarinet from the Band Director, Leo Gabriel, at the Alcoa Aluminum Plant Band. Although she knew nothing about the clarinet, she taught him basic music and they used the clarinet book to learn the fingerings and how to play the clarinet. Lou mastered the instrument and this ignited his pursuit of a career in music.
His first recordings were with bop emissaries Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk in 1952, and he led several small groups with other jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Horace Silver, and drummer Art Blakey.
In 1953, he also recorded sessions with the trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown, and Philly Joe Jones. In 1954, Donaldson briefly joined the emerging hard bop ensemble, the Jazz Messengers, and appeared on one of their most popular albums, A Night At Birdland.
Although he has recorded as a sideman, he has never belonged to any band other than those of which he was leader; he has been a bandleader since the mid-1950s. He has recorded in the bop, hard bop, and soul jazz genres. For many years his pianist was Herman Foster.
More information about Lou Donaldson
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Recommended Listening:
(1) Lou Takes Off
(2) Gravy Train
(3) The Lou Donaldson Quartet/Quintet/Sextet
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Performance Details:
Ticketholders for the Feb. 25th performance may also attend an live interview with KJAZZ’s Bubba Jackson (reservations are highly recommended for this show and can be made by contacting The Jazz Bakery at the phone number below).
Location:
Jazz Bakery
3233 Helms Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 271-9039
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