Relaxing at Sea: Live on the QE2
Encyclopedia
Relaxing at Sea: Live on the QE2 is a live album
by jazz
saxophonist Lou Donaldson
recorded on the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
cruise ship
and released on the Chiaroscuro
label featuring Donaldson with Lonnie Smith
, Randy Johnston
, and Danny Burger with Nicholas Payton
added on trumpet on two tracks.
The album was awarded 4 stars in an Allmusic review by Alex Henderson who states "Donaldson continued to command a loyal following when he entered his 70s; the improviser had just turned 73 when Relaxing at Sea was recorded... it was obvious that he could still play the heck out of his alto... Although it falls short of essential, Relaxing at Sea Live on the QE2 is a solid, pleasing addition to Donaldson's huge catalog".
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
recorded on the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
and released on the Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro Records
-Artists:*Nat Adderley*Howard Alden*George Barnes*Louie Bellson*Gene Bertoncini*Eubie Blake*Ruby Braff*John Bunch*Don Cherry*Buck Clayton*Eddie Condon*Johnny Costa*Kenny Davern*Wild Bill Davison*Lou Donaldson*Dorothy Donegan*John Eaton*Don Ewell...
label featuring Donaldson with Lonnie Smith
Lonnie Smith (jazz musician)
Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music...
, Randy Johnston
Randy Johnston
Randy Johnston is an American jazz guitarist.Johnston moved to Richmond, Virginia at age thirteen, and played rock music as a teenager. He studied at the University of Miami late in the 1970s and switched focus to jazz music, playing there with Ira Sullivan. He moved to New York City in 1981, and...
, and Danny Burger with Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father...
added on trumpet on two tracks.
The album was awarded 4 stars in an Allmusic review by Alex Henderson who states "Donaldson continued to command a loyal following when he entered his 70s; the improviser had just turned 73 when Relaxing at Sea was recorded... it was obvious that he could still play the heck out of his alto... Although it falls short of essential, Relaxing at Sea Live on the QE2 is a solid, pleasing addition to Donaldson's huge catalog".
Track listing
- All compositions by Lou Donaldson except as indicated
- "Harlem NocturneHarlem Nocturne"Harlem Nocturne" is a jazz standard written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939. The song was adopted by bandleader Randy Brooks the next year as his theme song."Harlem Nocturne" has been frequently recorded...
" (Earle HagenEarle HagenEarle Harry Hagen was an American composer who created music for movies and television. He is remembered for co-writing and whistling "The Fishin' Hole", the melody of the main theme to The Andy Griffith Show, the instrumental classic "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme to television's Mickey...
, Dick Rogers) - 7:57 - "Marmaduke" (Charlie ParkerCharlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
) - 8:07 - "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman" - 12:34
- "Midnight Creeper" - 6:27
- "Fast and Freaky" - 5:26
- "It Was a Dream" (Big Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
) - 7:03 - "ConfirmationConfirmation (composition)"Confirmation" is a bebop standard composed by saxophonist Charlie Parker in 1946. It is known as a challenging number due to its long, complex head and rapid chord changes, which feature an extended cycle of fifths ....
" (Parker) - 8:02 - "Now's the Time" (Parker) - 10:32
- "I Can't Get StartedI Can't Get Started"I Can't Get Started" is a popular song, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and music by Vernon Duke, that was first heard in the theatrical production Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 where it was sung by Bob Hope...
" (Vernon DukeVernon DukeVernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) - 7:32 - "Lou's New York Theme Song" - 0:34
- Jazzspeak - 5:38
- Recorded aboard the QE2 on November 5, 6, 8 & 10, 1999.
- "Harlem Nocturne
Personnel
- Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, vocals - Nicholas PaytonNicholas PaytonNicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(tracks 8 & 9) - Lonnie SmithLonnie Smith (jazz musician)Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music...
- organ - Randy JohnstonRandy JohnstonRandy Johnston is an American jazz guitarist.Johnston moved to Richmond, Virginia at age thirteen, and played rock music as a teenager. He studied at the University of Miami late in the 1970s and switched focus to jazz music, playing there with Ira Sullivan. He moved to New York City in 1981, and...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Danny Burger - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....