Lou Donaldson - Alligator Bogaloo (mp3, 320)

Lou Donaldson - Alligator Bogaloo (mp3, 320)



Alligator Bogaloo is one example of Lou Donaldson's successful combinations of hard bop and soul-jazz. Of the six tunes, three are Donaldson originals, including the title hit. The excellent band, consisting of Melvin Lastin, Sr. on cornet, George Benson on guitar, Lonnie Smith on organ, and Leo Morris on drums, mixes laid-back vamps beneath driving hard bop charts. As the '60s turned into the '70s, Donaldson began shaving off hard bop invention for a more radio-friendly and 45 rpm length, leaving soulful -- yet monotonous -- vamping. At that point, Donaldson's material suffered from a lack of originality. That's not the case on Alligator Bogaloo.



Personnel:

Lou Donaldson Quintet

Melvin Lastie (cor -1/4,6) Lou Donaldson (as) Lonnie Smith (org) George Benson (g) Leo Morris (d)



Track Listing:

01 Alligator Bogaloo

02 One Cylinder

03 The Thang

04 Aw Shucks!

05 Rev. Moses

06 I Want a Little Girl