Lou Takes Off is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by a sextet also featuring trumpeter Donald Byrd, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer 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."