Hot Dog (album)
Encyclopedia
Hot Dog is an album by jazz
saxophonist Lou Donaldson
recorded for the Blue Note
label in 1969 and featuring Donaldson with Ed Williams , Charles Earland
, Melvin Sparks
, and Leo Morris.
The album was awarded 2½ stars in an Allmusic review by Steve Huey who states "A wildly erratic slice of funky soul-jazz in keeping with Lou Donaldson's late-'60s commercial accessibility, Hot Dog isn't a total washout, but it's just as hit-and-miss as many of Donaldson's albums from the era (even if you are a fan of the style)... Hot Dog does have some worthwhile moments; it's just a pity the overall finished product isn't more consistent". The album featured Donaldson utilising the varitone
amplification system for his 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 1969 and featuring Donaldson with Ed Williams , Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
, Melvin Sparks
Melvin Sparks
Melvin Sparks was an American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He recorded a number of albums for Prestige Records, later recording for Savant Records...
, and Leo Morris.
The album was awarded 2½ stars in an Allmusic review by Steve Huey who states "A wildly erratic slice of funky soul-jazz in keeping with Lou Donaldson's late-'60s commercial accessibility, Hot Dog isn't a total washout, but it's just as hit-and-miss as many of Donaldson's albums from the era (even if you are a fan of the style)... Hot Dog does have some worthwhile moments; it's just a pity the overall finished product isn't more consistent". 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 his saxophone.
Track listing
- All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated
- "Who's Making LoveWho's Making Love"Who's Making Love" is a single recorded by singer Johnnie Taylor and released on the Stax label in the late summer of 1968. The single became Taylor's breakthrough single, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It became one of the few...
?" (Homer BanksHomer BanksHomer Banks was an African-American songwriter, singer and record producer, best known for his songs for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Bettye Crutcher, Don Davis, Raymond Jackson) - 6:46 - "Turtle Walk" - 7:56
- "Bonnie" (Tommy TurrentineTommy TurrentineThomas Walter Turrentine, Jr. was a swing and hard bop trumpeter of the 1940s to 1960s, the older brother of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.-Biography:...
) - 4:56 - "Hot Dog" - 10:45
- "It's Your ThingIt's Your Thing"It's Your Thing" is an influential funk single by the Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the funk anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late-1968....
" (Rudolph IsleyRudolph IsleyRudolph Bernard Isley , better known as Rudy Isley, is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald IsleyRonald IsleyRonald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
) - 8:59- Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on April 25, 1969.
- "Who's Making Love
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 - Ed Williams - 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 - Melvin SparksMelvin SparksMelvin Sparks was an American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He recorded a number of albums for Prestige Records, later recording for Savant Records...
- 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 ....