Lou Donaldson Eight Classic Albums

Real Gone Jazz issues eight Lou Donaldson bop and hard bop sides from 1957 to 1961 -- all of which were recorded for Blue Note -- on four CDs in its Eight Classic Albums series. These are not all the records he cut for the label, but a significant sampling that includes some of his best work. Disc one includes Wailing with Lou and Swing and Soul, both from 1957. Disc two features the stellar Lou Takes Off and his classic Blues Walk, both from 1958. The third disc in this collection contains two 1959 albums: the first, Light Foot, is a breezy affair of mostly standards, but the second, LD+3, featuring Donaldson with the 3 Sounds, hints at the soul-jazz that both Donaldson and the label would invest themselves in heavily during the coming years. The final disc here includes two of his lesser-known titles for Blue Note, though they are still solid efforts: 1959's The Time Is Right and 1960's hard-swinging Sunny Side Up. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Price: $24.98