Lou Donaldson
Alto Sax Solo on
Wee-Dot

About

Lou Donaldson opens the solo section on alto sax, stretching out for ten choruses at approximately 270 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 12-bar Blues form and the key of B♭, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. As the first voice heard after the head, Donaldson sets the improvisational tone before passing to Clifford Brown. Lou Donaldson burns through ten choruses of alto saxophone, his Parker-derived vocabulary perfectly suited to the blazing tempo. The fast tempo places a premium on agility and clarity of execution.

Lou Donaldson was 27 to 28 years old at the time.