Signifyin'

Recorded on July 17, 1963 at A&R Recording Studio in New York, Signifyin' captures alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson at a pivotal turn in his career, as he moved decisively from his earlier Charlie Parker-indebted bebop toward the earthy, backbeat-driven soul jazz that would define his mid-1960s work. The session paired Donaldson with organist "Big" John Patton, whose Hammond work anchors the date's deep groove and gospel-blues feel, alongside trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, guitarist Roy Montrell and drummer Ben Dixon. It was Donaldson's debut recording for Chess's Argo subsidiary after years on Blue Note, produced under Esmond Edwards's supervision, and it leans on original blues-based compositions alongside a pair of standards, "Time After Time" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." The record is often cited as an early, fully-formed statement of the soul jazz/organ-combo sound Donaldson would refine on his celebrated Blue Note run later in the decade. Critics have retrospectively praised the band's tight, funky cohesion, with Donaldson's blues-rooted phrasing riding comfortably atop Patton's grooves. Within Donaldson's long career - which spanned Blakey-era hard bop through to acid-jazz-era boogaloo hits - Signifyin' stands as a transitional but assured document of the organ-combo direction that made him one of soul jazz's most enduring and commercially successful figures.