As he delved deeper into commercial soul-jazz and jazz-funk, Lou Donaldson became better at it.
While lacking the bite of his hard bop improvisations or the hard-swinging funk of Alligator Bogaloo, Midnight Creeper succeeds where its predecessor, Mr.
Shing-A-Ling failed: it offers a thoroughly enjoyable set of grooving, funky soul-jazz.
The five songs -- including two originals by Donaldson and one each by Lonnie Smith (who also plays organ on the record), Teddy Vann, and Harold Ousley -- aren't particularly distinguished, but the vibe is important, not the material.
And the band -- Donaldson, Smith, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist George Benson, and drummer Leo Morris -- strikes the right note, turning in a fluid, friendly collection of bluesy funk vamps.
Donaldson could frequently sound stilted on his commercial soul-jazz dates, but that's not the case with Midnight Creeper.
He rarely was quite as loose on his late-'60s/early-'70s records as he is here, and that's what makes Midnight Creeper a keeper.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midnight CreeperLou Donaldson, Dr. Lonnie Smith | Lou Donaldson | Play | 06:32 | 14 MB | 43 MB |
| 2 | Love PowerTeddy Vann | Lou Donaldson | Play | 07:46 | 17 MB | 52 MB |
| 3 | ElizabethLou Donaldson | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | Dapper DanHarold Ousley | Lou Donaldson | Play | 06:30 | 14 MB | 43 MB |
| 5 | Bag of Jawels | Lou Donaldson | Play | 09:44 | 22 MB | 64 MB |
| 36 mins | 82 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 233 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Benson | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 2 | Joel Brodsky | Photography |
| 3 | Michael Cuscuna | Producer |
| 4 | Lou Donaldson | Composer, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| 5 | Blue Mitchell | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 6 | Leo Morris | Drums |
| 7 | Idris Muhammad | Guest Artist |
| 8 | Harold Ousley | Composer |
| 9 | Dr. Lonnie Smith | Composer, Guest Artist, Organ |
| 10 | Lonnie Liston Smith | Composer |
| 11 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer |
| 12 | Teddy Vann | Composer |
| 13 | Francis Wolff | Producer |
| 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). |