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Lou Donaldson: Lou Donaldson: Alligator Bogaloo – Blue Note 4263
Alligator Bogaloo is very much a product of its time—1967—and it is extremely groovy. Start with the cover. A woman with crazy eye makeup wears a nutty hijab-like getup and is waving her arms like an early-day Bangle walking like an Egyptian. Tres psychedelic.
Well, no surprise there. It's April 1967. The Summer of Love is about to begin. In two months, Sly and the Family Stone will burst into the public's consciousness and create modern funk.
The Beatles
band / ensemble / orchestra
James Brown
vocals1933 - 2006
Enter
Lou Donaldson
saxophone1926 - 2024
If there were a godfather of soul-jazz, Donaldson would be it. He was playing a funky alto sax long before Alligator Bogaloo, back in the hard-bop days of the 1950s, sometimes with
Jimmy Smith
organ, Hammond B31925 - 2005
But not here. Alligator Bogaloo (not boogaloo—go figure) is Lou Donaldson at the pinnacle of the jazz-soul era, with arguably the best and baddest example of the genre. Joining him are guitarist
George Benson
guitarb.1943
This is soul-jazz for people who love both.
"Alligator Bogaloo," the song, is a Donaldson original. It starts with a catchy, mod riff and continues with Donaldson's soulful sax solo. No hint of
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Sonny Rollins
saxophoneb.1930
"One Cylinder" is, as the name implies, a one-chord riff. It's not very clever and, at almost seven minutes, it goes on too long. But it's more a slow, sensuous piece in the hard bop tradition, with more bluesy work by everyone, especially Benson and Donaldson.
And then we're back to pure R&B soul. "The Thang," another Donaldson original, with an irresistible riff and Smith smoking on the Hammond B-3, sounding very much like another, more famous organist named Smith. If you like
Chuck Berry
guitar, electric1926 - 2017
James Brown
vocals1933 - 2006
"Aw Shucks!" is an original tune by Smith, delivering more wailing, slow soul-blues, followed by another Donaldson original, "Rev. Moses," which (as you might guess from the title) is more gospel than soul or bop. Finally, the ballad "I Want a Little Girl" takes us out.
You don't have to love the '60s to like Alligator Bogaloo, but it helps. It's about as fun and accessible as any album ever recorded by Blue Note.
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Availability: Not hard to find
Cost: $5 used, $10 new
Tags
Lou Donaldson
My Blue Note Obsession
Marc Davis
The Beatles
James Brown
Jimmy Smith
george benson
Lonnie Smith
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Sonny Rollins
Chuck Berry
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