After brief sojourns at Argo and Cadet, Lou Donaldson marked his 1967 return by recording Lush Life, the grandest project he ever attempted.
With its plush arrangements and unabashedly pretty melodies, Lush Life stands in stark contrast to everything else he cut in the '60s.
There are no blues, no stabs at soul-jazz grooves, no hard bop -- only sweet, sensitive renditions of romantic standards.
Donaldson shone on ballads before, but it's nevertheless surprising how successful he is on this set of slow love songs.
His tone is full and elegant -- it's easy to get lost in his rich readings of these familiar melodies, as well as his slyly seductive improvisations.
Of course, it helps that his instrumental backdrops are as lovely as those his nine-piece backing band provide.
Nonets are unwieldy, to be certain, but Duke Pearson's arrangements are clean, sparkling, and attractive, and the superstar band -- Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Jerry Dodgion (alto sax, flute), Pepper Adams (bari sax), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Garnett Brown (trombone), McCoy Tyner (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Al Harewood (drums) -- knows enough to provide sympathetic support and not steal the show.
When they do take solos, it enhances Donaldson's original statements, and helps make Lush Life the singularly enchanting record it is.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweet SlumberLucky Millinder, Al J. Neiburg, Henri Woode | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:56 | 13 MB | 40 MB |
| 2 | You've ChangedBill Carey, Carl Fischer | Lou Donaldson | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | The Good LifeJean Broussole, Sacha Distel | Lou Donaldson | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Star DustHoagy Carmichael | Lou Donaldson | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | What Will I Tell My HeartIrving Gordon, Jack Lawrence, Peter Tinturin | Lou Donaldson | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | It Might as Well Be SpringOscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | Sweet and LovelyGus Arnheim, Jules LeMare (Chas. N. Daniels), Harry Tobias | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 35 mins | 80 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 217 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pepper Adams | Main Personnel, Sax (Baritone) |
| 2 | Gus Arnheim | Composer |
| 3 | Bob Blumenthal | Liner Notes |
| 4 | Jean Broussole | Composer |
| 5 | Garnett Brown | Main Personnel, Trombone |
| 6 | Bill Carey | Composer |
| 7 | Hoagy Carmichael | Composer |
| 8 | Ron Carter | Bass (Acoustic), Main Personnel |
| 9 | Michael Cuscuna | Reissue Producer |
| 10 | Sacha Distel | Composer |
| 11 | Jerry Dodgion | Flute, Main Personnel, Sax (Alto) |
| 12 | Lou Donaldson | Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| 13 | Carl Fischer | Composer |
| 14 | Ira Gitler | Liner Notes |
| 15 | Irving Gordon | Composer |
| 16 | Oscar Hammerstein II | Composer |
| 17 | Al Harewood | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 18 | Freddie Hubbard | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 19 | Gordon H. Jee | Creative Director |
| 20 | Jack Lawrence | Composer |
| 21 | Jules LeMare (Chas. N. Daniels) | Composer |
| 22 | Alfred Lion | Producer |
| 23 | Reid Miles | Cover Photo, Design |
| 24 | Lucky Millinder | Composer |
| 25 | Al J. Neiburg | Composer |
| 26 | Duke Pearson | Arranger |
| 27 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 28 | Wayne Shorter | Main Personnel, Sax (Tenor) |
| 29 | Peter Tinturin | Composer |
| 30 | Harry Tobias | Composer |
| 31 | McCoy Tyner | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 32 | Rudy Van Gelder | Remastering |
| 33 | Francis Wolff | Photography |
| 34 | Henri Woode | Composer |
| 35 | 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). |