At 100, two soul jazz heavyweights bridge the blues to new generations

This feature is derived from KNKX's Tree of Jazz, a weekly deep dive into artists, albums, and instruments from the roots of jazz to it's new budding leaves.

For Jazz Appreciation Month, KNKX is celebrating jazz legends who were born 100 years ago.

Saxophonists Lou Donaldson and organist Jack McDuff, both born in 1926, championed memorable melodies and grooves rooted in the blues, and eventually became part of the fabric of hip hop, as its sound expanded in the early '90s.

Donaldson and McDuff’s success began in the ‘60s and lasted for decades. The musicians shared similar paths too; both spent time playing in Navy bands before their careers took off and played in a style known as “soul jazz,” which features energetic grooves and blues-oriented melodies. Their sounds filled clubs and caught the ears of the wider public.

As soul jazz developed a standard instrumental lineup of organ, guitar and drums, Donaldson and McDuff expanded their trios to quartets or larger ensembles with more melodic instruments, like saxophone and trumpet.

Most notably, they shared a mentality that music is meant to be enjoyed together, and it didn’t have to be complex. It just had to reach people and make them feel good.

“I started way back early playing for the people, cause I liked it when they filled the joint up!” McDuff said to Pete Fallico during the radio program “Doodlin’ Lounge.”

Donaldson also shared that sentiment, as he cleverly said on Jazz Night in America: “If you don’t play the blues, you lose.”

He also rejected the soul jazz label.

“That’s what they call it. I don’t call it soul jazz. I call it jazz, because that’s the way jazz is supposed to be played,” Donaldson said. To him, jazz has to have a groove because at its root, it’s music for dancing and getting together.

The mentality that music is for the people contributed to the longevity of both of their careers and their many tours. In addition, both brought top-notch players into their bands.

“I know musicians, if you play real good and play a long solo and the people give you a nice hand, they call you back and talk to you, ‘hey man, don’t forget it’s my band.’ I never did feel like that, I want the best musicians I can find!” McDuff said.

McDuff helped launch the career of the guitarist George Benson. In the early years of bebop, Donaldson performed a great deal with Horace Silver, Donald Byrd, and Clifford Brown. And later with organists Dr. Lonnie Smith and Charles Earland.

The high-caliber bands put together by McDuff and Donaldson were also foundational in hip-hop, particularly as the genre evolved.

Samples from McDuff and Donaldson songs have been documented on more than 500 tracks.

A Tribe Called Quest famously sampled McDuff for their song “Scenario,” flipping a cosmic ‘70s recording called “Oblighetto.” A Tribe Called Quest also sampled lots of Donaldson, including the drums played by Idris Muhammad on Donaldson’s version of “Who’s Making Love?”

Legendary hip-hop producer Pete Rock produced songs for Nas, Run-D.M.C. and his duo with CL Smooth. He sampled jazz, including drums and horns from Donaldson’s and McDuff’s recordings. He used the laid-back horns and organ from McDuff’s “Electric Surfboard” on his track with CL Smooth called “One in a Million,” and he looped the horns from Donaldson’s “Pot Belly” when he remixed the super hit “Jump Around” by House of Pain.

“To me, Lou was special…when hip-hop came around, he became enlightened and special all over again. That’s what hip-hop does when we sample jazz artists, soul artists. We’re in the mindset of giving back what they have given to us, which was life,” Rock said during a Jazz Night in America episode dedicated to Donaldson.

Looking back at the artistry of Jack McDuff and Lou Donaldson is not only about their legacy but the legacy of Black American music that began more than 100 years ago. Donaldson and McDuff’s sounds intertwine and expand on that legacy as it grows with each generation.

Select tracks from Lou Donaldson and Jack McDuff were featured on the April 12, 2026 edition of The Tree of Jazz. Listen to the past two weeks of Tree of Jazz On-Demand, and hear deep dives like this each week on air and online every Sunday from 3-6 p.m. PT.