Alligator Bogaloo by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson was recorded for the Blue Note label in 1967 and featured Donaldson with Melvin Lastie, Lonnie Smith, George Benson and Leo Morris (later to be better known as Idris Muhammad). The success of the title track surprised Donaldson: “[W]e made the date and we were three minutes short. I said we don’t have no more material. And the guy said just play anything for three minutes so we can fill out the time. So I just made the riff and naturally the guys could follow it. That’s the only damn thing that sold on the record.”

“Alligator Bogaloo is one example of Lou Donaldson’s successful combinations of hard bop and soul-jazz. Of the six tunes, three are Donaldson originals, including the title hit. The excellent band, consisting of Melvin Lastin, Sr. on cornet, George Benson on guitar, Lonnie Smith on organ, and Leo Morris on drums, mixes laid-back vamps beneath driving hard bop charts. As the ’60s turned into the ’70s, Donaldson began shaving off hard bop invention for a more radio-friendly and 45 RPM length, leaving soulful — yet monotonous — vamping. At that point, Donaldson’s material suffered from a lack of originality. That’s not the case on Alligator Bogaloo.” — AllMusic

Produced by Alfred Lion