North Carolina-born alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson loved two extremely productive spells at Blue Observe Information. The primary, between 1952 and 1963, resulted in 18 albums – together with his traditional 1958 opus Blues Stroll – and witnessed a stylistic transformation that noticed him journey from onerous bop to the extra accessible soul-jazz idiom. His second stint at Blue Observe (after quick stop-offs on the Argo and Cadet labels) got here within the wake of founder Alfred Lion’s departure in 1966 and lasted till 1974. Throughout that point he recorded 13 albums – amongst them Alligator Bogaloo and Mr. Shing-A-Ling – and earned renown as a purveyor of infectious, danceable grooves that married jazz improv with gospel fervor and James Brown-influenced funk.
Donaldson was simply 4 days shy of his forty first birthday when he took his quintet (trumpeter Blue Mitchell, organist Lonnie Smith, guitarist Jimmy “Fats” Ponder, and drummer Leo Morris) into Van Gelder Studio on October 27, 1967, to put down the 5 songs that had been launched in mid-January 1968 as Mr. Shing-A-Ling.
Boogaloo backbeats and organ extemporization
The album, produced by Francis Wolff, was Donaldson’s third since returning to Blue Observe and adopted within the wake of one in every of his hottest information, Alligator Bogaloo, which had come out three months earlier. Aiming to capitalize on the jukebox attraction of that album’s catchy title single, Donaldson determined to place a boogaloo backbeat beneath a canopy of one in every of 1967’s greatest and stunning pop hits: singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry’s southern thriller music “Ode To Billie Joe.” Reworked right into a sultry soul-jazz groove that spotlighted the dexterous Hammond B3 of Lonnie Smith, “Ode To Billie Joe” was positioned because the lead reduce on the Mr. Shing-A-Ling album and was additionally launched by Blue Observe as a single.
Extra consistent with the upbeat vibe of “Alligator Bogaloo” is a Donaldson authentic referred to as “The Humpback.” It’s notable for Leon Morris’ crisp drumming (Morris later modified his title to Idris Muhammad and loved a solo profession at Creed Taylor’s Kudu label) and a few sterling solos from Donaldson, Mitchell, Ponder, and, lastly, Smith.
After this, Donaldson turns the warmth all the way down to a delicate simmer with a bossa nova-esque model of “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” a ballad written by Johnny Mandel with Paul Frances Webster, which was first heard on the soundtrack to the 1965 Hollywood film The Sandpiper, and shortly turned a staple within the repertoire of singers resembling Tony Bennett, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Frank Sinatra. Although famend for his athleticism when it comes to improvisation, Donaldson reveals his lyrical aspect on this monitor, and there’s additionally a splendid solo by Floridian trumpeter Blue Mitchell. Lonnie Smith additionally reveals nice sensitivity with a passage of good organ extemporization.
Again to the funk
It’s again to the funk on “Peepin’,” an addictive Lonnie Smith tune outlined by an easy-strutting gait mixed with call-and-response riffs shared between the horns and organ. Smith – who started a solo profession at Blue Observe in 1969 and re-signed to the label in 2016, releasing the gorgeous All In My Thoughts two years later – takes the primary solo on a tune that Lou Donaldson re-recorded (minus the organist) on his 1974 Blue Observe album, Candy Lou. An edited model of “Peepin’” (backed with a shorter model of “The Humpback”) was launched because the second single from Mr. Shing-A-Ling.
Mr. Shing-A-Ling’s closing reduce, the Harold Ousley-penned “The Kid,” can be its longest tune. An open-ended music pushed by a looser sort of groove than “Peepin’,” it provides a chance for Donaldson’s males to dig into deeper, extra exploratory solos.
Maybe as a result of it was sandwiched between two excellent Lou Donaldson albums throughout the identical period – Alligator Bogaloo and Midnight Creeper, the latter recorded in March 1968 – Mr. Shing-A-Ling has typically been neglected. It’s, nevertheless, a effective instance of Lou Donaldson’s late 60s soul jazz interval.
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