Lou Donaldson - The Scorpion and Midnight Creeper

Continuing in the Soul Funk Jazz vein I am highlighting two very groove oriented albums by the wonderful alto sax player Lou Donaldson. The Scorpion (live at The Cadillac Club) is from 1970. The backing group consists of Fred Ballard on trumpet, Leon Spencer on organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar and Idris Muhammad on drums. The first track of the album opens with The Scorpion featuring a popping bass line. Alligator Boogaloo opens with the most excellent funky jazz drumming of Idris Muhammad later followed by a killer drum solo when Lou shouts "Give the drummer some". Most of the tracks on the live album are very funky jazzy grooves. Lou slows down to play the standard ballad Laura quite effectively showcasing his sensitive playing style. Midnight Creeper is an album in the same genre as The Scorpion. The group retains the great drums of Idris Muhammad. It also features George Benson's more precise guitar playing, Blue Mitchell on cornet and Lonnie Smith on organ. Midnight Creeper and Bag of Jewels are two very nice tracks from the album. Youtube didn't have links for the entire albums but I encourage you to get the CDs for your personal collection. You won't regret it. If you want to check out Lou in a more traditional jazz setting get Gravy Train which is also very well done.