Lou Donaldson - Sunny Side Up

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:55
Size: 103,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:41)  1. Blues for J.P.
(5:16)  2. The Man I Love
(5:53)  3. Politely
(3:58)  4. It's You or No One
(5:22)  5. The Truth
(6:10)  6. Goose Grease
(6:34)  7. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(5:58)  8. Way Down Upon the Swanee River

Sunny Side Up is closer to hard bop than the straight-ahead bop that characterized Lou Donaldson's '50s Blue Note records. There's a bit more soul to the songs here, which pianist Horace Parlan helps emphasize with his lightly swinging grooves. The pair help lead the group which also features trumpeter Bill Hardman, drummer Al Harewood and bassist Sam Jones (Laymon Jackson plays bass on two of the eight songs) through a mellow set of standards and bluesy originals from Donaldson and Parlan. Even the uptempo numbers sound relaxed, never fiery. Despite the general smoothness of the session, Donaldson stumbles a little the quotation of "Flight of the Bumblebee" on "Blues for J.P." is awkward, as is the snippet of "Pop Goes the Weasel" on "Politely," and "Way Down Upon the Swanee River" sounds lazy but there's enough solid material to make Sunny Side Up a worthwhile listen for fans of Donaldson and early-'60s hard bop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/sunny-side-up-mw0000176137

Personnel:  Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone; Horace Parlan - piano; Bill Hardman - trumpet;  Laymon Jackson - bass Sam Jones - bass;  Al Harewood - drums

Sunny Side Up

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