Lou Donaldson - Alligator Bogaloo (1967/2019) [24bit FLAC]

1967's Alligator Bogaloois one of alto saxophonist Lou Daonaldson's best soul jazz Blue Note Recordings, if you can forgive the, for lack of a better adjective,'stupid' and totally unrelated cover art, 'Liberty Records had already bought out Blue Note owner Alfred Lion and graphic artist Reid Miles had been let go, and many of the covers of the late 60's tried to capture this type of white 'modern' hipster look' 'my own hypothesis'.

Despite the Bad cover, the music is the best kind of funky soul jazz, gut bucket and earthy, with plenty of solo space for Donaldson and who ever the Organ player might happen to be, in this case the organist is Dr. Lonnie Smith.

Just about every late 60's soul jazz workout from Lou is worth getting, sometimes like with the album Mr. Shing-A-Ling, weak material can be a problem, sometimes it seems as if Lou isn't all the way into it, 'Maybe he felt sheepish about recording a payday,' no doubt this music was meant for the dance clubs and juke boxes, and specifically marketed to young African Americans.

Lou Donaldson, alto saxophone
George Benson, guitar
Melvin Lastie, cornet
Lee Morris, drums
Lonnie Smith, hammond B3