Early material from Nat Adderley. His pithy, pungent trumpet and cornet work is effective in a hard bop context, although his own work outside his brother's group has never seemed quite as effective. His backing group included Kenny Clarke in a non-Modern Jazz Quartet role, plus pianist Hank Jones, bassist Wendell Marshall, and Jerome Richardson on tenor sax and flute, playing with more punch than on either his Quincy Jones or Oliver Nelson large group dates.
Adderley has evidently found a soul mate in alto saxophonist Vince Herring, with whom he works once more on this 1990 date. Herring's voice has grown more impressive with each release, and he now offers more than just dazzling lines and phrases; he's constructing and completing confident statements. Pianist Rob Bargad, another regular, is on board, with bassist James Genus and drummer Billy Drummond.
One of Nat Adderley's finest albums. Sometimes the inclusion of tuba in a small-group modern jazz setting can produce whale-like results among a school of dolphin, but that's not the case here. Tuba man Laymon Jackson doesn't dominate or weigh down the proceedings, but merely gives them another texture. Nat is in fine form; I like his Miles mode on BLUE CONCEPT a lot. Tune selection for the date is also top rate: the two compositions by Duke Pearson (WHAT NEXT? and LITTLE MISS) are especially good. Nat Adderley fans and modern jazz lovers in general should like this ambitious CD very much.
In 1963 Cannonball Adderley signed with the Capitol label, retaining the rights to some master tapes recorded earlier while he was with Riverside. This CD (a straight reissue of an earlier LP) therefore contains music much closer to the altoist's freewheeling Riverside period than to his R&Bish Capitol dates. Adderley's greatest band - his sextet with cornetist Nat Adderley, Yusef Lateef (on tenor, flute and oboe), pianist Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes - is featured on such exciting numbers as "Jessica's Day," Jones' "Unit 7," and "The Jive Samba." A special treat of this live date is hearing the leader's introductory words to several of the songs.
A plethora of "lost" recording dates have popped up since the dawn of the compact disc, especially in the jazz world. Unfortunately, most of them haven't been worth the wait and, indeed, as underwhelming as some of them have been, it might - at least aesthetically speaking - have been better had they not been unearthed. Happily, this isn't one of these occasions. The two sessions here were recorded in 1961 and 1962 in Chicago and New York, and feature Cannonball Adderley's quintet that included pianist Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, drummer Louis Hayes, and brother Nat on cornet. Cleanhead sings his ass off and plays some alto with Cannonball…
"Ray Brown with the All-Star Big Band" is a 1962 album by the jazz double bassist Ray Brown accompanied by a big band featuring the alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley.
"Ray Brown / Milt Jackson" is an album by bassist Ray Brown and vibraphonist Milt Jackson recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve label.
Norman Granz was on hand to record music from Cannonball Adderley's first European tour in 1960, but he and the Adderley estate have been parsimonious in dealing out the goods. It took 24 years for Part One, What Is This Thing Called Soul to emerge, and another 13 years passed before this follow-up album came out. But better late than never, as they say, and the reward is hearing Cannonball's alto in full ecstatic flight, lots of fighting work from brother Nat on cornet and the prized rhythm section of Victor Feldman (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums) in a state of complete rapport…
Verve Jazz Masters 31 presents an introduction to the recordings of Cannonball Adderley. The enclosed booklet includes biographical material and commentary on the songs selected.
Cannonball Adderley was a happy man in an angry time. His success was largely based on that fact and so were his limitations. Called 'the new Bird" because of his remarkable facility on the alto saxophone, he never plumbed the dark depths of sorrow the way his predecessor did: he was Ella Fitzgerald to Charlie Parker's Billie Holiday. Nor did he ebulllient saxophone is showcased here playing classic songs, in small combos, swinging octets, and backed by string orchestras - from his mid-Fifties output for Mercury and EmArcy. With Paul Chambers, Kenny Clarke, John Coltraine, J.J. Johnson, Wynton Kelly an, of course, Cannonball's brother, Nat.