Veteran jazz musician Lou Donaldson, a jazz alto saxophonist for more than 50 years, died Sunday at the age of 98.

Donaldson’s family announced his pᴀssing in a post on his website reading, ‘The Family of Sweet Poppa Lou Donaldson sadly confirms his death on November 9, 2024.

‘A private service will be held. Thank you for your support of Lou and his music throughout his career. Because of you, his legendary contributions to Jazz will live on forever.’

The musician had a warm, fluid style and performed alongside artists including Thelonius Monk, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey and George Benson.

Donaldson’s material had been sampled by Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Nas, A$AP Rocky, De La Soul and the late Amy Winehouse among other artists.

Veteran jazz musician Lou Donaldson, a jazz alto saxophonist for more than 50 years, died Sunday at the age of 98. Pictured in the 1960s

A native of Badin, North Carolina and a World War II veteran, Donaldson was part of the bop scene that emerged after the war and early in his career recorded with Monk, Jackson and others.

Donaldson also helped launch the career of Clifford Brown, the gifted trumpeter who was just 25 when he was killed in a 1956 road accident. Donaldson also was on hand for some of pianist Horace Silver’s earliest sessions.

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Over more than half a century, he would blend soul, blues and pop and achieve some mainstream recognition with his 1967 cover of one of the biggest hits of the time, Ode to Billy Joe, featuring a young Benson on guitar. 

His notable albums included Alligator Bogaloo, Lou Donaldson at His Best and Wailing With Lou.

Donaldson would open his shows with a cool, jazzy jam from 1958, Blues Walk.

‘That´s my theme song,’ he said in a 2013 interview with the National Endowment for the Arts, which named him a Jazz Master. ‘Gotta good groove, a good groove to it,’

Nine years later, his hometown renamed one of its roads Lou Donaldson Boulevard.

Donaldson retired in 2018 after maintaining a presence for years at jazz clubs and gatherings, particularly in New York City.

The musician had a warm, fluid style and performed alongside artists including Thelonius Monk, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey and George Benson. Pictured in 2009 in NYC

Donaldson’s material had been sampled by Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Nas, A$AP Rocky, De La Soul and the late Amy Winehouse among other artists 

A native of Badin, North Carolina and a World War II veteran, Donaldson was part of the bop scene that emerged after the war 

Donaldson, who celebrated his 98th birthday earlier this month, usually went to Dizzy’s Jazz Club to mark the milestone, but had to cancel this year due to illness, as he fought with pneumonia before he died.

Donaldson had been wed to late wife Maker Neal Turner from 1950 until her 2006 pᴀssing; they were parents to late daughter Lydia Tutt-Jones and surviving daughter Carol.

Donaldson was fondly remembered by a number of fans, peers and musical organizations as news of his pᴀssing spread.

Jazz tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins said on X/Twitter: ‘Lou Donaldson: one of the best humans God introduced me to. May his soul always be alive in this world.’

Jazz expert Mark Stryker noted that Donaldson was one in a series of recent deaths of musical mainstays.

‘Tough 9 days for the music: Quincy Jones was 91; George Bohanon, 87; Lou Donaldson, 98; Roy Haynes, 99,’ Stryker said. ‘Yes – all especially long and well-lived lives. Still, that’s 375 years of combined wisdom and history leaving the planet.’

The National Endowment for the Arts said, ‘It is with great sadness that @NEAarts acknowledges the pᴀssing of saxophonist Lou Donaldson, recipient of a 2013 Jazz Master Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in jazz.’

The National Endowment for the Arts released a statement acknowledging Donaldson’s death

Jazz tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins said on X/Twitter: ‘Lou Donaldson: one of the best humans God introduced me to. May his soul always be alive in this world’

Jazz expert Mark Stryker noted that Donaldson was one in a series of recent deaths of musical mainstays 

A number of fans also chimed in with memorials for Donaldson 

A number of fans also chimed in with memorials for Donaldson.

‘Man… Rest in Peace the great Lou Donaldson. So thankful for your music, insight, and humor,’ one said.

Another added, ‘I saw him perform in the early 90s. He was excellent. Sad to here he has pᴀssed. RIP Lou.’

Said one user, ‘RIP Lou Donaldson. I discovered his albums through this track ‘Pot Belly’ which appeared on one of the Ultimate Breaks and Beats Albums in the late eighties. Many of his albums have been heavily sampled since.

‘Hip Hop definitely wouldn’t have been the same without Lou.’