Say It Loud!
Encyclopedia
Say It Loud! is an album by jazz
saxophonist Lou Donaldson
recorded for the Blue Note
label in 1968 and featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell
, Charles Earland
, Jimmy Ponder
, and Leo Morris.
The album was awarded 1½ stars in an Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "his group sounds awkward and uneasy. There are a few good moments scattered throughout the album, particularly by Mitchell, but overall, Say It Loud! is one of the weakest records in Donaldson's catalog". The album featured Donaldson utilising the varitone
amplification system for saxophone.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
recorded for the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label in 1968 and featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
, Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
, Jimmy Ponder
Jimmy Ponder
Jimmy Ponder is an American jazz guitarist.Ponder started playing guitar at age 14, and was heavily influenced by Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He began playing with Charles Earland at 17, and in the following years played with Lou Donaldson, Houston Person, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine,...
, and Leo Morris.
The album was awarded 1½ stars in an Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "his group sounds awkward and uneasy. There are a few good moments scattered throughout the album, particularly by Mitchell, but overall, Say It Loud! is one of the weakest records in Donaldson's catalog". The album featured Donaldson utilising the varitone
Varitone
The Varitone is an amplified saxophone that the Selmer Company introduced in 1965. The Varitone included a small microphone mounted on the saxophone neck, a set of controls attached to the saxophone's body, and an amplifier and loudspeaker mounted inside a cabinet. The Varitone's effects included...
amplification system for saxophone.
Track listing
- All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated
- "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" (James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Pee Wee EllisPee Wee EllisAlfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
) - 7:32 - "SummertimeSummertime (song)"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
, DuBose HeywardDuBose HeywardEdwin DuBose Heyward was a white American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was the basis for the play by the same name and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin.-Life and career:Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina and was a...
) - 5:49 - "CaravanCaravan (song)"Caravan" is a jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol and first performed by Duke Ellington in 1937. Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, but he sometimes is not credited on the many instrumental versions. Its exotic sound interested exotica musicians; Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman both covered it. Woody...
" (Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
, Juan TizolJuan TizolJuan Tizol was a Puerto Rican trombonist and composer.He was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Music was a large part of his life from an early age. His first instrument was the violin, but he soon switched to valve trombone, the instrument he would play throughout his career...
) - 5:22 - "Snake Bone" - 9:31
- "Brother Soul" (Donaldson, Leon SpencerLeon SpencerLeon Spencer is an American acid jazz / soul jazz organist born in Houston, Texas, in 1945. He played piano with David Newman, and later organ with Melvin Sparks....
) - 8:17- Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on November 6, 1968.
- "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" (James Brown
Personnel
- Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- varitoneVaritoneThe Varitone is an amplified saxophone that the Selmer Company introduced in 1965. The Varitone included a small microphone mounted on the saxophone neck, a set of controls attached to the saxophone's body, and an amplifier and loudspeaker mounted inside a cabinet. The Varitone's effects included...
alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, vocals - Blue MitchellBlue MitchellRichard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Charles EarlandCharles EarlandCharles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
- organ - Jimmy PonderJimmy PonderJimmy Ponder is an American jazz guitarist.Ponder started playing guitar at age 14, and was heavily influenced by Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He began playing with Charles Earland at 17, and in the following years played with Lou Donaldson, Houston Person, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine,...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Leo Morris - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....