Contemporary Lou (circa 1970)...
Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 07/18/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"One of the interesting things about Lou Donaldson has always been his ability to find a formula and stick with it. The fact that he hasn't really done any major about faces since the late 60's I guess is both a plus and a minus. A plus because Lou's Lou and Lou's great... and a minus, because I think a lot of his albums after the 70's started to sound the same. That said, I should point out too important things in his defense... 1) Even today he has one of the best live Jazz shows on the scene, just as appealing for old straight Jazzers as young acid Jazz heads and 2) actually the guy did do some major about faces, going from being a young Charlie Parker type alto player, inspired hard bopper, to finally one of the funky Godfather's of that whole blue note 8 beat boogaloo sound !
Now, what about this album ? Well, its good, but not groundbreaking or unbelievable. Some nice tunes and grooves are there, but nothing is really over the edge though it is a great pleasure to hear Leon Spencer on organ (kicking his own bass) as well as Lonnie Smith (aided by a bass player.) A young Ted Dunbar also appears on the session and Blue Mitchel is backing his up as well.
In all honesty, I'm not such a fan of that strange almost electric type alto sound he had during that era and feel the group was kinda going through the motions on this session... on the other hand, when guys like that are going through the motions it might be going through the motions, but keep in mind THESE GUYS KNOW ALL THE RIGHT MOTIONS to go through. So my verdict -- If you have all Lou's earlier stuff, yeah, get it its worth it, but if you're looking to explore the world of LD, obvoiusly ALLIGATOR BOOGALOO and TURTLE WALK are the places to start... This album is good, but it definitely lacks the funk intensity of Grant Green LIVE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE or Lonnie Smith LIVE AT CLUB MOZAMBIQUE, so if you're looking for the funk, that's really where to start, but if you have it already and want more... grab this !"
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1