Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, who has moved on at the ripe age of 98, is perhaps the foremost example of how intertwined bebop and the blues are. Once a major heir to the Charlie Parker throne, he made a striking number of successful records in the funky acoustic “boogaloo” vein. Yet a focused listen reveals that the nuances of his bebop work are still present when he plays the blues, and the blues were always there even when he was burning over chord changes at a bright tempo. Combine this with his wry sense of humor and it’s no wonder why he was a beloved figure. Here are some of my favorite recorded moments from his immense discography, presented in chronological order.

1 ) “On the Scene” from Milt Jackson Quartet by Milt Jackson (1952)

Tempted though I was to choose Lou’s appearance on an important Monk session from the same year, I had to go with his one compositional contribution to this important and brilliant session with the members of what would soon be dubbed the Modern Jazz Quartet. It’s a lot to be able to keep up with a flowing up-tempo solo by Milt Jackson, but Lou demonstrates that he is already a bebop master by this point.

2 ) “Blues” from A Night at Birdland by Art Blakey (1954)

This landmark maiden recording by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, featuring Lou, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, and Curly Russell, features a disproportionate number of burning bebop numbers, but tempted as I was to choose one of those (or, conversely, his featured ballad), I had to go with this relaxed blues performance, which is an important early document of Lou’s distillation of Charlie Parker’s vocabulary and gutbucket blues into an already-identifiable sound.

3 ) “That Good Old Feeling” from Wailing with Lou (1957)

This medium-tempo tune by Lou sounds as if it could be a standard, and as such it’s also a great example of the maturity with which he navigated this sort of material. The swinging rhythm section of Herman Foster (who plays a rowdy block chords solo), Peck Morrison, and Art Taylor swings confidently and Donald Byrd gets a great trumpet solo as well.

4 ) “Watusi Jump” from Here ‘Tis (1961)

Though by this point he had recorded on quite a few Jimmy Smith sessions, this represents the first of his many organ-based recordings. Through the years he would employ some of the most important post-Smith organists, including Charles Earland, Brother Jack McDuff, Big John Patton, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Here it’s Baby Face Willette on organ, with guitarist Grant Green also getting in a great solo on this hard-swinging Donaldson blues composition. And Lou himself, of course, blows like crazy.

5 ) “It Might As Well Be Spring” from Sweet Slumber (reissued as Lush Life) (1967)

This whole album, with orchestrations for 7 horns by Duke Pearson, is utterly gorgeous, and this track offers a particularly potent example of his ballad playing. His melody interpretation and solo are exemplars of lyricism, and McCoy Tyner gets in a particularly melodic solo as well.

6 ) “Pot Belly” from Pretty Things (1970)

This is one of many examples of the funky work with which he was most associated in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Lou rocks the varitone attachment to the saxophone (most closely associated with Eddie Harris) and other soloists include trumpeter Blue Mitchell, organist Leon Spencer, and guitarist Ted Dunbar, because of whom I first picked this record up. Drummer Idris Muhammad, a veteran of over a dozen of Lou’s sessions (including possibly the most iconic funky-Lou track, “Alligator Boogaloo”) holds it all together.

I will also sheepishly acknowledge that after writing this whole essay, I stumbled upon the “discovery” that this track has been sampled by approximately a bazillion hip-hop artists. So there you have it.

7 ) “Walkin’ Sally” from Color As A Way Of Life (1976)

This original tune on a funk/disco record with strings is in one sense an anomaly in Lou’s discography, but at the same time his capacity to play funky makes it a natural fit. We hear him once again blowing the blues with the varitone attachment.

8 ) “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman” from Forgotten Man (1981)

The first recording of Lou’s signature comedic blues tune comes complete with his hilarious deadpan vocals. Capably backing him are his longtime 1980s rhythm section with Herman Foster (heard once again on piano, nearly a quarter century after entry #3 above) alongside the grooving bass and drums of Jeff Fuller and Victor Jones.

9 ) “Blue Bossa” from Birdseed (1992)

Though I was tempted to include one of Lou’s original compositions from his early-‘90s sessions for the Timeless label, I also wanted to represent his playing in a Latin jazz context, and this is a fun and authoritative example alongside two longtime associates from this era, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Fukushi Tainaka.

10 ) “Confirmation” from Mance by Junior Mance (1998)

Recorded live at the “Floating Jazz Festival,” this performance shows the septuagenarian still bringing the fire on this Charlie Parker tune that he recorded more than 40 years prior with Blakey’s band and on four other occasions in the intervening years. He is heard here with Junior Mance’s trio, with Keter Betts and Jackie Williams, along with Arturo Sandoval on trumpet.