Lou Takes Off is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Donaldson's Sextet with Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Sonny Clark, Jamil Nasser, and Art Taylor. The album was awarded 4½ stars by Lee Bloom in an Allmusic review which stated "This recording marks a period in his development prior to a stylistic shift away from bop and toward a stronger rhythm and blues emphasis... Overall, Lou Takes Off breaks no new musical ground, but it is a solid, swinging session of high-caliber playing. According to Donaldson, Blue Note initially didn't like any of the album, "the conga drums or the new musicians."