Possum Head

Last updated
Possum Head
Possum Head.jpg
Studio album by
Lou Donaldson
Released1964
RecordedJanuary 28, 1964
StudioUnited Recording Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Jazz
Label Argo
LP-734
Producer Esmond Edwards
Lou Donaldson chronology
Signifyin'
(1963)		Possum Head
(1964)		 Cole Slaw
(1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Possum Head is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Argo label in 1964 and performed by Donaldson with Bill Hardman, Big John Patton, Ray Crawford, Ben Dixon, and Cleopas Morris. [2]

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music". Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".

Lou Donaldson American saxophonist

Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.

Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records.

Contents

Reception

The album was awarded 4 stars in an Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny who states "Patton's sublimely funky grooves effectively sand away Donaldson's wooden edges to create rolling melodic contours... Donaldson circles around the hard-driving soul-jazz sensibilities of his later records but never quite commits, instead favoring lyrical solos well-matched to standards... An engaging and underrated record". [3]

Track listing

All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated
  1. "Possum Head" - 3:15
  2. "Laura" (David Raksin) - 4:42
  3. "Midnight Soul" - 4:57
  4. "Bye Bye Blackbird" (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson) - 6:28
  5. "Persimmon Tree" - 5:35
  6. "Frenesí" (Alberto Dominguez, Leonard Whitcup) - 6:15
  7. "Man with a Horn" (Eddie DeLange, Jack Jenney, Bonnie Lake) - 5:04
  8. "Secret Love" (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) - 5:43


Personnel

Alto saxophone Type of saxophone

The alto saxophone, also referred to as the alto sax, is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, and patented in 1846. It is pitched in E♭, and is smaller than the tenor, but larger than the soprano. The alto sax is the most common saxophone and is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, and jazz. The fingerings of the different saxophones are all the same so a saxophone player can play any type of saxophone.

William Franklin Hardman, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege.

Trumpet musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

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References

  1. ↑ Allmusic Review
  2. ↑ Lou Donaldson discography accessed December 10, 2009.
  3. ↑ Ankeny, J. Allmusic Review accessed December 10, 2009.
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