''Possum Head'' is an album by
jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the
Argo
In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...
label in 1964 and performed by Donaldson with trumpeter
Bill Hardman, organist
“Big” John Patton, guitarist Ray Crawford, drummer Ben Dixon and percussionist Cleopas Morris.
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".
[Ankeny, J. Allmusic Reviewaccessed December 10, 2009.]
Track listing
:''All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated''
# "Possum Head" - 3:15
# "
Laura
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay on ...
" (
David Raksin) - 4:42
# "Midnight Soul" - 4:57
# "
Bye Bye Blackbird" (
Mort Dixon
Mort Dixon (March 20, 1892 – March 23, 1956) was an American lyricist.
Biography
Born in New York City, United States, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published ef ...
,
Ray Henderson
Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter.
Early life
Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...
) - 6:28
# "Persimmon Tree" - 5:35
# "Frenesí" (
Alberto Dominguez, Leonard Whitcup) - 6:15
# "Man with a Horn" (
Eddie DeLange,
Jack Jenney
Truman Eliot "Jack" Jenney (May 12, 1910 – December 16, 1945) was an American jazz trombonist.
Early life
Born in Mason City, Iowa, Jenney first played trumpet, then switched to trombone. His father was a musician and music teacher. Jenney pe ...
, Bonnie Lake) - 5:04
# "
Secret Love" (
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...
,
Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award.
Life and career
Webster was born in New York City, United St ...
) - 5:43
Personnel
*
Lou Donaldson -
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
*
Bill Hardman -
trumpet
*Ray Crawford -
guitar
*
Big John Patton
John Patton (July 12, 1935 – March 19, 2002) was an American jazz, blues and R&B pianist and organist often known by his nickname, Big John Patton.
Patton was one of the most in-demand organists during the golden era of the Hammond B-3 organ ...
-
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
*
Ben Dixon -
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*Cleopas "Mopedido" Morris -
percussion
References
{{Authority control
Lou Donaldson albums
1964 albums
Albums produced by Esmond Edwards
Argo Records albums