Donaldson, Smith Share a Blues Groove at Bakery

Put alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith together on the same stage and the results are certain to overflow with references to the blues, both directly and indirectly. And that’s exactly what happened Wednesday night at the Jazz Bakery.

Donaldson started out as a bopper, like so many saxophonists of his generation (he is now 75), following closely in the pathway blazed by Charlie “Bird” Parker. By the ‘60s, however, he was revealing a fascination with the then-emerging genre called “soul jazz”--a kind of predecessor to the funk and blues grooves of later decades.

It was a lode that Donaldson worked with considerable success--especially in hits such as “Alligator Boogaloo” and its follow-ups.

But as his Bakery playing made perfectly clear, he never has really abandoned the boppish roots that have always been at the base of his improvisations.

Smith’s long association with Donaldson (he was in the band for the “Alligator Boogaloo” session) has established a smoothly compatible musical camaraderie between the two artists. Like Donaldson, Smith is firmly tapped into blues roots, his Hammond B-3 organ playing drenched with theatrical keyboard sweeps and sudden, dynamic shifts of sound. As always, he was also a dramatic performer, transforming much of the music into climactic, Wagnerian moments of intensity.

Supported by guitarist Randy Johnston and drummer Adam Cruz, Donaldson and Smith testified (that’s the best way to describe it) to the vivid musical life still present in groove-driven blues--in music that keeps the feet tapping with visceral rhythms without abandoning the inventive expressiveness essential to the art of jazz improvisation. It makes for a fascinating, always compelling musical combination.

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Lou Donaldson and Dr. Lonnie Smith at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave. Tonight through Sunday at 8 and 9:30 p.m. $25. (310) 271-9039.