Lou Donaldson- "At his best"

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

is this considered the best of lous argo lps? how come lou made lps for argo during his tenure w/ blue note anyways? i got this for five big ones and really like it! its very jumpy

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I think it's one of the best. Calvin Newborn is on this one, which always makes an album special for me. Lou's albums made for the Chess Bros are all very good indeed. They don't have that sound that RVG gave musicians. And they feel more relaxed than BNs anyway. So you don't get a MAJOR kick out of them. What you get feels to me much more like Lou's regular thing, rather than something that had been rehearsed to perfection.

Lou didn't record for Chess during his tenure at BN.

Before "Sidewinder", every BN musician who got an album onto the pop charts left BN. According to Francis Wolff, this was because BN didn't pay royalties. It wasn't of concern to musicians, who were getting more upfront from BN than other companies, until they had a hit. So when they went to BN to ask where their royalties were (who reads a contract?) they were told to eff off.

So they did. And Donald Byrd, who was one of them, started studying law, with the specific motivation of advising other musicians on such matters.

After BN had been sold, Francis was able to attract Lou back on board, I guess when the Chess contract expired.

MG

[Dan Gould]

Why am I thinking that "At His Best" had Grant Green? Its one of the two LD Argos I don't have on vinyl, only CDR, so its not so easy to check ...

I still get a major KICK out of the Argos, and at least one of those LPs couldn't have been "typical" Lou, as it had a swinging octet behind him. That's something BN didn't do for quite a few years, when they recorded Lush Life.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Why am I thinking that "At His Best" had Grant Green? Its one of the two LD Argos I don't have on vinyl, only CDR, so its not so easy to check ...

It really was Calvin. GG was only on "Musty Rusty".

I still get a major KICK out of the Argos, and at least one of those LPs couldn't have been "typical" Lou, as it had a swinging octet behind him. That's something BN didn't do for quite a few years, when they recorded Lush Life.

You're quite right Dan - I'd forgotten about "Rough house blues", arranged by Oliver Nelson.

So, except for "Rough house blues" and the aquaducts and law and order, what you get with the Chess Bros stuff, is your regular Lou.

MG

[Soul Stream]

Although I dig ALL the Argo Lou stuff, especially Signifyin' with Big John. Seems like the songs and solos are shorter, so they don't really stand the test of time like the Blue Notes. I do like the Baby Face Willette Argo stuff though A LOT.

[Shawn]

At His Best is probably my favorite of the Argo sessions...but then again, I haven't heard one that I DIDN'T like...so it makes it hard to pick a fave.

[RDK]

So there is truth in advertising.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Although I dig ALL the Argo Lou stuff, especially Signifyin' with Big John. Seems like the songs and solos are shorter, so they don't really stand the test of time like the Blue Notes. I do like the Baby Face Willette Argo stuff though A LOT.

This reminds me of something someone said about the difference between Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. (Can't remember where, but maybe in "Making tracks".) Ahmet was said to be more interested in people with great talent, who could make great records, while Wex was supposed to be more interested in artists who were representative of the black community, who could make records that people could identify with.

Although numerous exceptions can be pointed out, to me, Blue Note (and Riverside) generally fall into the former category, trying to make great records, Chess (and Prestige) into the latter, trying to make ones that rang a bell with the black public. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

MG