Sassy Soul Strut

Recorded on April 17 and 18, 1973 at Generation Sound Studio in New York City, featuring Donaldson on alto saxophone with a large ensemble including Thad Jones, Garnett Brown, Seldon Powell, Bernard Purdie on drums, and guitarists David Spinozza and John Tropea, with arrangements by Horace Ott. The title track and album marked the late stage of Donaldson's soul-jazz and funk period on Blue Note, bringing together studio heavyweights from the New York session world to create a polished crossover record aimed at the R&B and funk market. The album became a crate-digging touchstone, with its funky instrumental grooves attracting hip-hop producers and rare groove collectors in later decades; the title track in particular is cited as a representative example of Blue Note's early-1970s commercial funk pivot.