''Good Gracious!'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

recorded for the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label in 1963 and performed by Donaldson with

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

Big John Patton John Patton (July 12, 1935 – March 19, 2002) was an American jazz, blues and R&B pianist and organist often known by his nickname, Big John Patton. Patton was one of the most in-demand organists during the golden era of the Hammond B-3 organs ...

, and Ben Dixon.

Reception

The album was awarded 3½ stars in an

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "Donaldson's tone is richer and fuller than it is on many of his early-'60s records, and he really connects with the laid-back R&B grooves and soul-jazz vamps on ''Good Gracious'', turning in melodic, memorable solos... ''Good Gracious'' still falls prey to some of the lazy tempos that pop up on most Lou Donaldson records, but it remains one of his finest soul-jazz sessions".Erlewine, S. T.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

accessed December 8, 2009.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

describes the album as one of Donaldson’s best, in part because of the contributions from Patton and Green.

Track listing

All compositions are written by Lou Donaldson, except where noted.

Personnel

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

- guitar *

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

* Ben Dixon -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

{{Authority control Lou Donaldson albums 1964 albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Blue Note Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio