The influence of Charlie Parker can be heard in virtually every modern jazz musician, particularly players of the alto saxophone.
Although considered to be one of "Bird's children," Lou Donaldson absorbed and synthesized other pre-Parker influences, such as Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter.
This recording marks a period in his development prior to a stylistic shift away from bop and toward a stronger rhythm and blues emphasis.
Three up-tempo tunes are pure bebop; the remaining number is a medium blues in B flat, quite characteristic of the hard bop period.
The front line on this set includes Donald Byrd and Curtis Fuller; the rhythm section is Sonny Clark, George Joyner, and Art Taylor.
Overall, Lou Takes Off breaks no new musical ground, but it is a solid, swinging session of high-caliber playing.
[An edition remastered by Rudy Van Gelder was issued in 2008.].
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SputnikLou Donaldson | Lou Donaldson | Play | 10:05 | 23 MB | 80 MB |
| 2 | Dewey SquareCharlie Parker | Lou Donaldson | Play | 07:17 | 16 MB | 54 MB |
| 3 | Strollin' InLou Donaldson | Lou Donaldson | Play | 14:34 | 33 MB | 104 MB |
| 4 | Groovin' HighDizzy Gillespie | Lou Donaldson | Play | 06:22 | 14 MB | 46 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 285 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Blumenthal | Liner Notes |
| 2 | Donald Byrd | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 3 | Sonny Clark | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 4 | Michael Cuscuna | Reissue Producer |
| 5 | Lou Donaldson | Composer, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| 6 | Curtis Fuller | Trombone |
| 7 | Dizzy Gillespie | Composer |
| 8 | Gordon H. Jee | Reissue Director |
| 9 | George Joyner | Bass |
| 10 | Alfred Lion | Producer |
| 11 | Jamil Nasser | Bass |
| 12 | Charlie Parker | Composer |
| 13 | Art Taylor | Drum, Drums, Main Personnel |
| 14 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer, Remastering |
| 15 | Francis Wolff | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 16 | Amanda Wray | Reissue Design |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |