There are rare exceptions to the belief that American Jazz has reached its death rattle during the end of the 20th century. Lou Donaldson (born- 1926), famous Jazz saxophonist, is one of them. Not only was the spirit of 1940's Be Bop alive and exciting as ever, but Lou brought some new blood, multi-racial musicians to the stage to accompany him, reminiscent of Benny Goodman's bi-racial Jazz Bands of the 1920's. On drums, young Fukushi Tainaka held fort, and energized the Village Vanguard to its highest, trading fours like a true champion of the original Be Bop legends (Tony Williams, Philly Joe Jones). Randy Johnston vamped away on guitar much like mid-70's John Scofield-era fusion, using slight distortion and atonal blues bends, unusual to this style of guitar. And Jazz legend in his own right: Dr. Lonnie Smith, was the glue keeping it all together on the organ, playing the bass lines as well as featured soloist on every tune. With an all-star lineup from around the world, the night was destined for some old Jazz anecdotes, colossal blues soloing, and a handful of old blues standards on the eve of Thanksgiving. Lou Donaldson, famous for his work with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, etc. kicked off the evening with "Blue Monk". His style is similar to the great Charlie "Bird" Parker. He stays within the blues, but no less fierce in experimentation, Donaldson blew his Alto as fluent as he did in the 1950's. Unexpected hits of the night were his improvised comical rapping between solos, and jokes with the crowd about his band- "Fukushi Tainaki! From old Mississippi!" They played quite a few blues standards, before a beautiful rendition of Louie Armstrong's- "What a wonderful world" that simmered the audience down and brought an elegant sentiment to the show's closing. It was a sold out show, and I was planted in the back row, just able to see odd facial expressions, drumsticks flying through the air, and the entire audience smiling in delight to every note blasting out of Donaldson's horn like a multi-colored kaleidoscopic light show. Sitting where I was, the absence of a bass player was insignificant due to Smith's virtuoso organ capabilities, and the mix of Johnston's chord vamping. It sounded as if the guitar and organ were one instrument, obviously not deliberate, but working with the Village Vanguard's dry open acoustics. The club feels like it was constructed on one big slant, so the sound travels in unexpected ways: drums a bit muddled behind the band, organ and guitar mixed together as one, and Donaldson's saxophone in the far front. It could've been the sound bouncing off the back wall, or the Jack and Coke creating this sonic aura, but nevertheless, as a unit, they sounded strong and incredible! The audience's response was overwhelmingly joyful, and more than happy to go another few hours after the shows finish.
