Sassy Soul Strut

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Sassy Soul Strut
Sassy Soul Strut.jpg
Studio album by Lou Donaldson
Released 1973
Recorded April 17 & 18, 1973
Genre Jazz
Label Blue Note
Producer George Butler
Lou Donaldson chronology
Sophisticated Lou
(1972) Sophisticated Lou1972
Sassy Soul Strut
(1973)
Sweet Lou
(1974) Sweet Lou1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Sassy Soul Strut is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label featuring Donaldson with Thad Jones, Garnett Brown, Seldon Powell, Buddy Lucas, Paul Griffin, Horace Ott, Hugh McCracken, David Spinozza, John Tropea, Wilbur Bascomb, Bernard Purdie, Omar Clay, and Jack Jennings, with arrangements by George Butler. [2]

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States, 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.

Blue Note Records American record label

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label that is owned by Universal Music Group and operated with Decca Records. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derives its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz. Although the original company did not record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro and Bud Powell.

Contents

The album was awarded 2½ stars in an AllMusic review by Jason Ankeny who stated "Sassy Soul Strut quickly settles comfortably into a light, accessible mode too lively to dismiss as smooth jazz but too mellow to pass as anything else. Butler's arrangements haven't dated particularly well, but the record's too innocuous and good-natured to qualify as an outright failure. It's simply forgettable, nothing more and nothing less". [3]

AllMusic online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

Track listing

All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated
  1. "Sanford and Son Theme (The Streetbeater)" (Quincy Jones) - 7:00
  2. "Pillow Talk" (Michael Burton, Sylvia Robinson) - 4:52
  3. "Sassy Soul Strut" - 5:00
  4. "Good Morning Heartache" (Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham) - 2:32
  5. "City, Country, City" - 9:10
  6. "This Is Happiness" (Tadd Dameron) - 5:19
  7. "Inner Space" - 6:58
  • Recorded at Generation Sound Studios, NYC on April 17, 1973 (tracks 1, 6 & 7) and April 18, 1973 (tracks 2-5).

Personnel

The Varitone was a woodwind pickup and effects unit, allowing direct amplification of the instrument and the introduction of various electronic effects. It was marketed in 1967 by the Selmer Company, which developed units for flute, saxophone, and clarinet. The system included an integrated pickup microphone and a control box which allowed the player to use effects such as tremolo, basic EQ, simultaneous sub-octaves and echo in conjunction with a purpose built amplifier. The ceramic microphone was developed to withstand high sound pressure and moisture levels, and built into the head joint of the flute, the neck-joint of the saxophone, and the barrel joint of the clarinet. The pickup was wired to a preamplifier and control box which was either mounted to the bottom key guard, clipped to the player's belt, or hung on a cord around the players neck.

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.

Thad Jones American jazz trumpeter

Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists."

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References

  1. Allmusic Review
  2. Lou Donaldson discography accessed December 15, 2009.
  3. Ankeny, J. AllMusic Review accessed December 15, 2009.