Lou Donaldson

Often when headliners perform at Chicago's premier jazz venues, they "pick up" some of the local talented musicians to round out their ensemble. That was not the case with Donaldson. Accompanying Lou during this gig was guitarist Eric Johnson, drummer Fukushi Tainaka, and dynamic organist Akiko Tsuruga. It isn't often that one witnesses a female organist with a jazz band, but Ms. Tsuruga opened some eyes and ears with her "Shirley Scott-like" sound.

After quipping about not knowing if he could play so early in the afternoon (4:00 p.m.), Donaldson opened the 75 minute set with "Blues Walk." That "concern" was quickly put to rest as Lou closed his eyes and began making sweet music. He integrated a few bars of "Summertime" during this selection. Guitarist Johnson and Organist Tsuruga displayed nice extended solos.

With August being the traditional commemoration of the late and great Charlie Parker at the Showcase, they next played one of Parker's composition entitled "Qui." Donaldson spoke about Parker's role in revolutionizing BeBop before they journied into this hard bop selection with each ensemble member showing off their "BeBop" skill.

Another nice piece they played was "What a Wonderful World," a tune make popular by trumpeter Louie "Pops" Armstrong. Lou even attempted to emulate "Pops" with some vocals during this number. The crowd loved every minute of it. This song also featured guitarist Johnson who did his his best imitation of Wes Montgomery while picking the strings with his thumb and not a pick.

Drummer Fukushi was featured on "Fast and Freaky." Before playing this number Lou quipped, you can't play this number by getting high. That was followed by a "blusey" number with Donaldson again demonstrating his vocal prowess. He called it "suffering" music and indicated "you can't play it if you haven't had it." Again, the crowd was very appreciative of his bantering.

As the set was nearing an end, Donaldson shared another story about once being told by a producer that he needed a three minute song to complete an album. Not having any material available in his songbook, Lou decided to just make up a song on the fly. Naturally, it turned out to be one of his greatest hits, "Alligator Boogaloo." This funky tune allowed Tsuruga to stretch her talents while Donaldson seemed to admire her bursts on the organ.

This wonderful set was coming to an end, but not before a final anecdote from the affable Donaldson. As they prepared to play Charlie Parker's "Cherokee," Lou talked about often using this number to eliminate musicians he didn't care for because it was such an intricate piece to play with some very fast runs. Well, even at 81, Lou demonstrated he can still make those runs as he brought this set to a climatic conclusion.

The Jazz Showcase is open seven days a week with local talent highlighted Monday-Wednesday before national headliners don the stage Thursday-Sunday. For detailed information, refer to their website at: www.jazzshowcase.com.