''The Natural Soul'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, 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 ...

recorded for the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

label in 1962 and performed by Donaldson with

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

Tommy Turrentine Thomas Walter Turrentine, Jr. (April 22, 1928 – May 13, 1997) was a swing and hard bop trumpeter and composer who was active between the 1940s and the 1960s. He rarely worked as a bandleader, and was known for his work as a sideman with drum ...

, Big John Patton, and Ben Dixon.

Reception

The album was awarded 4 stars in an

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "''The Natural Soul'' finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop... The original compositions — which form the bulk of the album — aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves. And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about — groove. It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, '' Here 'Tis'', and remains one of his best records in that genre".Erlewine, S. T.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed December 8, 2009.

Track listing

All compositions by Lou Donaldson except where noted # "Funky Mama" (Big John Patton) - 9:08 # "

Love Walked In "Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The tune was composed in 1930, but the lyric was not written until 1937, for the movie musical ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938), where it was sung by Kenny Baker. ...

" ( Gershwin, Gershwin) - 5:12 # "Spaceman Twist" - 5:38 # "Sow Belly Blues" - 10:13 # " That's All" (Alan Brandt,

Bob Haymes Robert William Haymes (March 29, 1923 – January 27, 1989), also known by the stage names Robert Stanton and Bob Stanton, was an American singer, songwriter, actor and radio and television host. He is best remembered for co-writing the song " Th ...

) - 5:36 # "Nice 'n' Greasy" (

John Adriano Acea John Adriano Acea (September 11, 1917 – July 25, 1963) was an American jazz pianist. He was born in Philadelphia to Adriano Acea of Cuba and Leona Acea of Virginia. One of six children, he was expected to die during his first decade of life ...

) - 5:27 # "

People Will Say We're in Love "People Will Say We're In Love" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, '' Oklahoma!'' (1943). In the original Broadway production, the song was introduced by Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts. Plot context The other characters ...

" ( Hammerstein II,

Rodgers Rodgers is a patronymic surname of Old English origin derived from the Norman personal name "Roger", with the addition of the genitive suffix "-s" and meaning “son of Roger.” The intrusive “d” in Rodgers is either a Welsh or Scottish ...

) - 7:53 Bonus track on CD

Personnel

- alto saxophone *

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

- guitar * Big John Patton - organ * Ben Dixon - drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Soul, The Lou Donaldson albums 1963 albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Blue Note Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio