According to a family statement, Lou Donaldson, a talented jazz alto saxophonist, passed away over the weekend. He was 98 years old.
“The Family of Sweet Poppa Lou Donaldson regretfully acknowledges his death on November 9, 2024,” reads a pop-up notice on Donaldson’s website. It will be a private service. We appreciate your unwavering support of Lou and his music over the years. His renowned contributions to jazz will endure forever because of you.
Donaldson was born on November 1, 1926, in Badin, North Carolina. While serving in the Navy during World War II, he discovered bebop music and decided to pursue a career as a saxophone player. Notable jazz musicians including Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, and Milt Jackson were included on several of his early recordings.
Throughout his more than 50-year career, Donaldson’s subtle, bluesy touch on the alto saxophone won him praise. His unique style brought him numerous hits, like as his well-known cover of Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 smash song “Ode to Billie Joe,” a blues-country ballad about a young Mississippian who committed suicide.
Donaldson’s rendition of Gentry’s song has been sampled in more than 200 tracks, such as “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West, “Clap Your Hands” by A Tribe Called Quest, and “A$AP.” Rocky’s “L$D.” Some of his previous songs, such as “Pot Belly” and his instrumental version of “It’s Your Thing” by The Isley Brothers, have been sampled by De La Soul, Amy Winehouse, and Dr. Dre, among others.
The 92-year-old saxophonist spent years playing at bars and jazz festivals, especially in New York City, before announcing his retirement in 2018. Until just before his passing, Donaldson kept celebrating his birthday at several places, most notably Dizzy’s Jazz Club in New York. A little over a week before he passed away, he had planned to celebrate his 98th birthday but had to postpone it due to a pneumonia attack.
From 1950 till her death in 2006, Donaldson married his beloved local, Maker Neal Turner. In addition, the couple had two children: Carol, his surviving daughter, and Lydia Tutt-Jones, who passed away in 1994.
