The Natural Soul

The Natural Soul
The Natural Soul
Studio album by Lou Donaldson
Released	March 1963
Recorded	May 9, 1962
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	49:07 CD reissue
Label	Blue Note; BST 84108
Producer	Alfred Lion
Lou Donaldson chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Down Beat (Original Lp release)	^[2]
Allmusic	^[3]
All About Jazz	(favorable)^[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[5]

The Natural Soul is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1962 and performed by Donaldson with Grant Green, Tommy Turrentine, Big John Patton, and Ben Dixon.^[6]

Reception[]

The album was awarded 4 stars in an Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "The Natural Soul finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop... The original compositions — which form the bulk of the album — aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves. And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about — groove. It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, Here 'Tis, and remains one of his best records in that genre".^[7]

Track listing[]

All compositions by Lou Donaldson except where noted

"Funky Mama" (Big John Patton) - 9:08
"Love Walked In" (Gershwin, Gershwin) - 5:12
"Spaceman Twist" - 5:38
"Sow Belly Blues" - 10:13
"That's All" (Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes) - 5:36
"Nice 'n' Greasy" (John Adriano Acea) - 5:27
"People Will Say We're in Love" (Hammerstein II, Rodgers) - 7:53 Bonus track on CD

Personnel[]

References[]

^ Billboard Mar 30, 1963
^ Down Beat:May 23, 1963 Vol. 30, No. 12
^ Allmusic Review
^ All About Jazz review
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 389. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Lou Donaldson discography accessed December 8, 2009.
^ Erlewine, S. T. Allmusic Review accessed December 8, 2009.

[1] Billboard Mar 30, 1963

[2] Down Beat:May 23, 1963 Vol. 30, No. 12

[3] Allmusic Review

[4] All About Jazz review

[Penguin-5] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 389. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[6] Lou Donaldson discography accessed December 8, 2009.

[7] Erlewine, S. T. Allmusic Review accessed December 8, 2009.

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show v t Lou Donaldson
Studio albums	Quartet/Quintet/Sextet (1952) Wailing with Lou (1957) Swing and Soul (1957) Jimmy Smith Trio + LD (1957) Lou Takes Off (1957) Blues Walk (1958) Light-Foot (1958) LD + 3 (1959) The Time Is Right (1959) Sunny Side Up (1960) Midnight Sun (1960) Here 'Tis (1961) Gravy Train (1961) A Man With a Horn (1961) The Natural Soul (1962) Good Gracious! (1963) Signifyin' (1963) Possum Head (1964) Cole Slaw (1964) Rough House Blues (1964) Musty Rusty (1965) Blowing in the Wind (1966) Lou Donaldson at His Best (1966) Lush Life (1967) Alligator Bogaloo (1967) Mr. Shing-A-Ling (1967) Midnight Creeper (1968) Say It Loud! (1968) Hot Dog (1969) Everything I Play Is Funky (1970) Pretty Things (1970) Cosmos (1971) Sophisticated Lou (1972) Sassy Soul Strut (1973) Sweet Lou (1974) A Different Scene (1976) Color as a Way of Life (1976) Sweet Poppa Lou (1981) Forgotten Man (1981) Back Street (1982) Play the Right Thing (1990) Birdseed (1992) Caracas (1993) Sentimental Journey (1995)
Live albums	Fried Buzzard (1965) The Scorpion (1970) Live in Bologna (1984) Relaxing at Sea: Live on the QE2 (2000)
Related	Discography

show v t "Big" John Patton
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader	Along Came John (1963) Blue John (1963) The Way I Feel (1964) Oh Baby! (1965) Let 'Em Roll (1965) Got a Good Thing Goin' (1966) Boogaloo (1968) That Certain Feeling (1968) Understanding (1968) Accent on the Blues (1969) Memphis to New York Spirit (1969–70) Soul Connection (1983) Blue Planet Man (1993) Minor Swing (1994) This One's for Ja (1996)
With Lou Donaldson	The Natural Soul (1962) A Man With a Horn (1963) Good Gracious! (1963) Signifyin' (1963) Possum Head (1964)
With others	Am I Blue (Grant Green, 1963) Blues for Lou (Grant Green, 1963) Iron City (Grant Green, 1967) Soul Groove (Johnny Griffin and Matthew Gee, 1963) The Burner (Red Holloway, 1963) Soul Fountain (Clifford Jordan, 1966) Everything Must Change (Johnny Lytle, 1977) Rockin' the Boat (Jimmy Smith, 1963) Steppin' Out! (Harold Vick, 1963) Shoutin' (Don Wilkerson, 1963) The Big Gundown (1984–85) Spillane (1986–87)