| The Natural Soul | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Lou Donaldson |
| Cover: | The Natural Soul.jpg |
| Released: | March 1963[1] |
| Recorded: | May 9, 1962 |
| Studio: | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Length: | 49:07 CD reissue |
| Label: | Blue Note BST 84108 |
| Producer: | Alfred Lion |
| Chronology: | Lou Donaldson |
| Prev Title: | A Man with a Horn |
| Prev Year: | 1961 |
| Next Title: | Good Gracious! |
| Next Year: | 1963 |
The Natural Soul is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1962 and performed by Donaldson with Grant Green, Tommy Turrentine, Big John Patton, and Ben Dixon.[2]
This album marked the debut on records of organist Big John Patton, who went on to record several more albums for Blue Note both under his own name and in conjunction with other artists such as Lou Donaldson.
The album was awarded 4 stars in an Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine who states "The Natural Soul finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop... The original compositions — which form the bulk of the album — aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves. And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about — groove. It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, Here 'Tis, and remains one of his best records in that genre".[3]
All compositions by Lou Donaldson except where noted