UK Jazz News

Tony Kofi and The Organisation celebrate Lou Donaldson

Premiere performance - Vortex Jazz Club, London, 11 January 2025

Tony Kofi at theLou Donaldson premiere. Photo by Dan Paton

Here is proof – if any were needed – of the restlessness and need for variety that frequently drives jazz musicians. Saxophonist Tony Kofi’s most recent project was a wonderful duo with harpist Alina Bhzezhinska, music with a meditative, lush and sometimes melancholy quality. With barely a pause for breath, Kofi now switches back from tenor to alto sax, and returns to his longstanding ensemble The Organisation (with guitarist Simon Fernsby, drummer Pete Cater and Liam Dunachie now taking on organ duties) to explore the music of classic Blue Note-era saxophonist Lou Donaldson.

Kofi is clearly energised and inspired by this project, and he speaks enthusiastically about sitting in on a rehearsal with Donaldson’s band thirty years ago. This was a session that Kofi was fortunately able to record, and a recent return to the tapes lead him to explore the music with his own group. This is the kind of music not heard on the London scene all that frequently (steeped in blues, rhythm and groove, and often directly swinging), so it actually proves refreshing that Kofi’s approach to it in terms of arrangement and execution is reasonably faithful.

The line-up of The Organisation already respects Donaldson’s tendency to work with Hammond organ players such as Dr. Lonnie Smith and Big John Patton, and Cater is a good fit as a drummer for this project, communicating with clarity and a language steeped in jazz and bop history, mostly eschewing trickery. Kofi makes it clear this is early days and the project will develop, but the ensemble already communicates well both with each other and the audience, and they distill a positive, effervescent vibe. Kofi himself projects with intensity and commitment, and Dunachie handles the varied demands of organ playing (bass line, accompaniment, occasional melody and improvisation) with confidence and fluency.

The set draws from Donaldson’s own repertoire, along with associated standards (a dreamlike Polka Dots and Moonbeams) and works by associated composers including Jimmy Smith, and opening with one of Donaldson’s most well known blues pieces Blues Walk. A recreation of Donaldson’s sleek, groovy version of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode To Billie Joe captures the vivid narrative richness of the song’s lyric, as well as its considerable mystery and strangeness. Other highlights include propulsive pieces such as “Alligator Bogaloo”, “Hot Dog” and “Good Gracious”. Guitarist Simon Fernsby both accentuates and supports the groove with some rhythmically assured comping, and there is an emphasis on dance and movemement. It’s a gig where being in the standing room at the back of the Vortex might actually be preferable to being seated in the front row – at the very least, everyone is toe tapping.

In addition to the selections from Donaldson’s catalogue, there are also some connected standards and other composers, including Jimmy Smith (again highlighting the role of the organ) and a dreamlike “Polka Dots and Moonbeams”, which Donaldson himself recorded on the 1961 album Gravy Train. While the music is rendered faithfully and with great respect to the original recordings, Kofi and The Organisation make their individual presences felt through their articulate and often thrilling improvising.

Kofi plays with intensity and commitment throughout and it is possible to see how the delivery of this music might gain more freedom over time with more performance and familiarity. Right from the outset, this is a project providing a personal insight into Donaldson and his work, and an opportunity to revisit and re-evaluate music not all that frequently discussed in contemporary critical and academic circles. It also very clearly connects with an audience…who responded with enthusiasm and joy.

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