Lou Donaldson Quotes

People have seemed to shy away from the avant garde movement, and they�re coming back to the mainstream . . . straight�ahead jazz, whatever you want to call it. 
Lou Donaldson

Most everything of intrinsic value in jazz left with bebop�that ended it. From then up to now, it�s nothing�it�s just a waste of time, really. They�ve tried to categorise jazz into something that it�s not. Spontaneous improvisation can be done with any type of music, not just jazz, but what they�re trying to do now�they�ve got �harmonic improvisation� now. They�re concentrating on it in schools, and most of the young musicians are playing that way�and the essence of jazz is gone. You know, the bluesy feeling, and the soul, and the feeling in the rhythm�that�s gone. It even pains me to hear some groups now�some of the top, highly�rated people. It�s really sickening to hear it, because they don�t have the basic ingredients. Like taking the sugar out of cake�it�s got a lot of dough there, nothing else. 
Lou Donaldson