Lou Donaldson Midnight Creeper (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) 180g LP

Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson hadn't recorded for Blue Note since 1963 when he returned to the label in 1967 and began a new chapter in his lengthy career. Sweet Papa Lou had helped lay Blue Note's soul jazz foundation alongside Hammond B3 organists including Jimmy Smith, Baby Face Willette, and Big John Patton going back to the late 1950s thru the early '60s on standout dates including his own Here 'Tis, Good Gracious! and The Natural Soul. Upon his return, Donaldson pushed ahead with a new hard-grooving sound on 1967's Alligator Bogaloo, which was the first of his many collaborations with organ virtuoso Lonnie Smith and also featured the young guitar star George Benson and the impossibly funky drummer Leo Morris (aka Idris Muhammad). On Mr. Shing-a-Ling he added the bluesy trumpeter Blue Mitchell to the mix, and for 1968's soul jazz manifesto Midnight Creeper he got the whole gang back together for a greasy six-song set including the jaunty title track, "Love Power," "Bag of Jewels," and "Dapper Dan."

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology, Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

...a thoroughly enjoyable set of grooving, funky soul-jazz....[Donaldson] rarely was quite as loose on his late-'60s/early-'70s records as he is here, and that's what makes Midnight Creeper a keeper.