Artist Name: Lou Donaldson Artist Biography: Lou Donaldson (b. 11/1/26, Badin, NC) is one of the great bebop alto saxophonists, a fluid player with a strong blues inflection. He switched to the alto soon after picking up the clarinet at age 15. He played in a navy band with Clark Terry and Ernie Wilkins and moved to New York after his discharge, studying at the Darrow Institute of Music. In 1952 Donaldson began recording as a leader for Blue Note, with his rich sound fully formed. Donaldson´s mid-´50s conspirators include all the greats: Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Thelious Monk, Jimmy Smith, Milt Jackson, and Art Blakey. In the early ´60s Donaldson translated his bluesy sound to soul-jazz, playing with funky organ combos; his most popular record was the low-down Alligator Boogaloo (Blue Note 1967). After a period of relative inactivity, Donaldson made his return to jazz in 1981 and has since recorded a string of soulful hard-bop dates for Muse, Timeless, and Milestone. E-mail:   Web Site: