CANNONBALL ADDERLEY

Download music!: Cannonball Adderley-Walk Tall;  Cannonball Adderley-Stars Fell on Alabam; Cannonball Adderley-Wabash

"He had a certain spirit. You couldn't put your finger on it, but it was there in his playing every night." --Miles Davis

---------------

Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928 – August 8, 1975), was a jazz alto saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Tampa, Florida, he moved to New York in the mid 1950s.

He was the brother of jazz cornetist Nat Adderley.

Educator and saxophonist

His educational career was long established prior to teaching applied instrumental music classes at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cannonball was a local legend in Florida until he moved to New York City in 1955.

He joined the Miles Davis sextet in 1957, around the time that John Coltrane left the group to join Thelonious Monk's band. (Coltrane would return to Davis's group in 1958). Adderley played on the seminal Davis records Milestones and Kind of Blue. This period also overlapped with pianist Bill Evans's time with the sextet, an association that led to recording Portrait of Cannonball and Know What I Mean?.

His interest as an educator carried over to his recordings. In 1961, Cannonball narrated The Child's Introduction to Jazz, released on Riverside Records.

Band leader

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured Cannonball on alto sax and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. Adderley's first quintet was not very successful. However, after leaving Davis' group, he reformed another, again with his brother, which enjoyed more success.

The new quintet (which later became the Cannonball Adderley Sextet), and Cannonball's other combos and groups, included such noted musicians as:
pianists Bobby Timmons, Victor Feldman, Joe Zawinul (later of Weather Report), Hal Galper, Michael Wolff and George Duke
bassists Sam Jones, Walter Booker and Victor Gaskin
drummers Louis Hayes and Roy McCurdy
saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Yusef Lateef.

The sextet was noteworthy towards the end of the 1960s for achieving crossover success with pop audiences, but doing it without making artistic concessions. 

Later life

By the end of 1960s, Adderley's playing began to reflect the influence of the electric jazz avant-garde, and Miles Davis' experiments on the album Bitches Brew. On his albums from this period, such as The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970), he began doubling on soprano saxophone, showing the influence of John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. In that same year, his quintet appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and a brief scene of that performance was featured in the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me, starring Clint Eastwood. In 1975 he also appeared (in an acting role alongside Jose Feliciano and David Carradine) in the episode "Battle Hymn" in the third season of the TV series Kung Fu.

Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida. Later that year he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.  

Joe Zawinul's composition "Cannon Ball" (recorded on Weather Report's album Black Market) is a tribute to his former leader.

Songs made famous by Adderley and his bands include "This Here" (written by Bobby Timmons), "The Jive Samba," "Work Song" (written by Nat Adderley), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (written by Joe Zawinul) and "Walk Tall" (written by Zawinul, Marrow and Rein). A cover version of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)?" also entered the charts.

Adderley was a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America Incorporated (Xi Omega, Frostburg State University, '70), the largest and oldest secret society in music and Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest existing intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans (made Beta Nu chapter, Florida A&M University).

---------------

Biography by Scott Yanow

One of the great alto saxophonists, Cannonball Adderley had an exuberant and happy sound that communicated immediately to listeners. His intelligent presentation of his music (often explaining what he and his musicians were going to play) helped make him one of the most popular of all jazzmen. 

Adderley already had an established career as a high school band director in Florida when, during a 1955 visit to New York, he was persuaded to sit in with Oscar Pettiford's group at the Cafe Bohemia. His playing created such a sensation that he was soon signed to Savoy and persuaded to play jazz full-time in New York. With his younger brother, cornetist Nat, Cannonball formed a quintet that struggled until its breakup in 1957. Adderley then joined Miles Davis, forming part of his super sextet with John Coltrane and participating on such classic recordings as Milestones and Kind of Blue. Adderley's second attempt to form a quintet with his brother was much more successful for, in 1959, with pianist Bobby Timmons, he had a hit recording of "This Here." From then on, Cannonball always was able to work steadily with his band. 

During its Riverside years (1959-1963), the Adderley Quintet primarily played soulful renditions of hard bop and Cannonball really excelled in the straight-ahead settings. During 1962-1963, Yusef Lateef made the group a sextet and pianist Joe Zawinul was an important new member. The collapse of Riverside resulted in Adderley signing with Capitol and his recordings became gradually more commercial. Charles Lloyd was in Lateef's place for a year (with less success) and then with his departure the group went back to being a quintet. Zawinul's 1966 composition "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" was a huge hit for the group, Adderley started doubling on soprano, and the quintet's later recordings emphasized long melody statements, funky rhythms, and electronics. However, during his last year, Cannonball Adderley was revisiting the past a bit and on Phenix he recorded new versions of many of his earlier numbers. But before he could evolve his music any further, Cannonball Adderley died suddenly from a stroke.

Source: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difixqr5ldte~T1

---------------

Bio by Barry Kernfeld, The New Grove Dictionary Of Jazz

Julian Adderley. The nickname "Cannonball" was a childhood corruption of "cannibal," describing his large appetite. He played alto saxophone in Florida bands from around 1942 and directed a high-school band in Fort Lauderdale for more than two years from September 1948. After serving in army bands from 1950 to 1953 he resumed teaching until 1955. 

He then moved to New York, intending to play with his brother, Nat, and to begin graduate studies at New York University. Instead, a chance jam session led to his joining Oscar Pettiford's band and signing a recording contract. 

The Adderley brothers formed a promising quintet in january 1956, but in September the following year the group was forced to disband because of financial difficulties. Adderley then replaced Sonny Rollins in the Miles Davis Quintet in October 1957. He stayed in Davis's famous sextets, playing with John Coltrane, until September 1959, when he formed a second quintet with his brother. This group, which played soul jazz and bop, remained intact until 1975, achieving considerable success. 

A masterful, confident improviser, Adderley was called "the new Bird" because his debut in 1955 occurred shortly after Charlie Parker's death. This unfortunate label caused resentment among the press and public, and set him unattainable standards. 

Although he at times imitated Parker (as did all bop alto saxophonists), his first bop recordings reveal more chromatic and continuous lines and a more cutting tone than Parker's. On other recordings he played and composed in a simple blues- and gospel-oriented style. "Cherokee" [mp3] with Bud Powell & Don Byas from 1961. 

Source: http://hardbop.tripod.com/cannon.html

---------------

Jazz: Cannonball Adderley

Those of you who have poked around Randy's Rodeo much have no doubt ascertained that my tastes can be a tad, um, mainstream. Certainly, I love a good, catchy single, and I am drawn to emotive, accessible records. My fondness, then, for the music of Cannonball Adderley should come as no surprise, for his was a joyful, soulful strain of jazz. Consequently, he has been, in the words of the Penguin Guide To Jazz, critically undervalued. "Cannonball always fell back on cliques," the book contends, "because he just liked the sound of them. But, there's a lean, hard-won quality about his best playing that says a lot about one man's dedication to his craft."

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley recorded prolifically for 21 years (1955-1975), playing with a who's who of jazz, including John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and Miles Davis. Cannonball earned his bones, in fact, as a member of the legendary Davis sextet that recorded Kind Of Blue, Milestones, and Porgy & Bess (1958-59), and Davis' contribution to Adderley's 1959 Blue Note LP, Somethin' Else, helped make it an indisputable jazz classic; grudgingly perhaps, the Penguin Guide gives it four stars - their highest rating.

But, Cannonball was very popular with the general public, thanks in part to his ingratiating personality; during concerts, he would launch into lengthy, humorous, spoken introductions that clearly pleased his audience. His success, however, was mostly due a series of catchy, rock-solid singles he recorded in the years following his high profile work with Miles Davis. These include "Work Song" (1960), "African Waltz" (1961), "Jive Samba" (1962), "Save Your Love For Me" (1962), and one of the all-time great jazz hits, "Mercy Mercy Mercy" (1966), which reached #11 Pop and #2 R&B.

Tragically, Cannonball's life and career were cut short by a stroke at age 46. But, his recorded legacy, I argue, makes him an important figure in both the hard bop school of the late 50's and the development of soul jazz in the 60's. Perhaps more importantly, he played an important role as an ambassador for jazz and was instrumental in advancing the careers of many young players - Charles Lloyd and Yusef Lateef among them. Truly, Cannonball Adderley was an expansive, engaging bandleader; together with his easygoing musical style, this made him one of the most popular (if not respected) jazzmen of his day.

An alto saxophone player, Cannonball Adderley was inevitably influenced influenced by post-war giants Charlie Parker and Benny Carter. By the mid-50's, he was a moonlighting from his job as a high school band director in a group with his brother, cornet virtuoso Nat Adderley, in their native Florida. While visiting New York, he and Nat sat in with Oscar Pettiford and were subsequently signed to Savoy Records. Before long, Miles Davis tapped Cannonball to play alongside John Coltrane in that immortal sextet. Following following his stint with Miles, Adderley picked up where he has left off, playing with his brother. Over the years, the Adderley siblings performed in a variety of settings, from small groups to big bands, but their best and most popular sides were recorded by quintets and sextets that, over the years, included Joe Zawinul (who wrote "Mercy"), Charles Lloyd, and Bobby Timmons. 

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. In 1955, Adderley and his brother participated in several hard bop sessions for Savoy that featured a rotating cast of soon-to-be-legends, including Kenny Clark, Horace Silver, Donald Byrd, and Hank Jones. The sessions yielded (at least) three different albums: most famously Bohemia After Dark, but also Cannonball's and Nat's respective debuts, Presenting Julian Cannonball Adderley and That's Nat. These sessions have been reissued many times - most expansively on Summer Of '55 (1999) and most concisely on Spontaneous Combustion (2006), or on any number of other Savoy reissues.

Beginning with 1955's Julian Cannonball Adderley (and throughout his celebrated stint with Miles Davis), Cannonball recorded for the EmArcy label, and these sides are often overlooked by fans and (especially) critics. And it's true, some of these sessions were overtly tailored to pop tastes. By the way, two of the best such albums - Adderley And Strings (1955) and Jump For Joy (1958) - are available as a 2-for-1 CD from Verve.

Most of Cannonball's EmArcy sessions, however, were bop-oriented, and these recordings are compiled in their entirety on Sophisticated Swing: The Emarcy Small Group Recordings - including sessions issued under brother Nat's imprimatur. When EmArcy was shuttered, Adderley switched to Mercury, which reissued his EmArcy sides in the early 60's under a variety of titles new and old including Cannonball EnRoute (1961) and The Lush Side of Cannonball (1962).

As an overview of this period, pick up Verve's The Ultimate Cannonball Adderley (1999) which brings together highlights from all the EmArcy and Mercury recordings, including the fabled quintet sessions with John Coltrane (see below) and a 1962 date with Ray Brown. In the alternative, look for Verve Jazz Masters (1994) or Cannonball Adderley's Finest Hour (2001).

Though Cannonball Adderley was quickly coming into his own as a bandleader, his two landmark recordings from the late 1950's are inextricably tied to his tenure with Miles Davis. Somethin' Else, of course, was an absolutely stellar session with Miles Davis, Hank Jones, and Art Blakey, and Sam Jones, and it has become Adderley's most highly regarded album. Then, Cannonball quickly followed up with Quintet In Chicago, a magnificent jam with Adderley's mates from the 1959 Davis sextet, including John Coltrane and Wynton Kelly. It is among the most challenging work Adderley ever did - and among Coltrane's most instantly likeable. (Quintet In Chicago was released on Mercury, and later reissued by Verve as Cannonball And Coltrane)

Around this time, Adderley began a productive sojourn at Riverside Records (from 1958 till it went bust in 1963) marked by popular singles like "This Here," "African Waltz," "The Jive Samba," "Work Song," and "Waltz For Debby" (with Bill Evans). Among the standout studio albums from these years are his Riverside debut, Portrait Of Cannonball (1958); Things Are Getting Better (a tremendous date with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, and Wynnton Kelly, 1958); Quintet In San Francisco (1959); Them Dirty Blues (1960); Know What I Mean? (with Bill Evans, 1961); and the live sextet workout, In New York (1962). Fantasy's Greatest Hits: The Riverside Years collects (all too brief) highlights from this period - excellent as jumping-off point or as a taster for casual fan. During this period, Adderley also waxed Poll Winners with Ray Brown and Wes Montgomery (1960) and the popular Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley (1962) for Capitol.

It was Capitol that snatched up Cannonball Adderley after Riverside folded, and they took control of several of his Riverside masters. During these years, Adderley settled into a pleasant, easy groove - though he inarguably continued to produce good music. The first Capitol releases, Jazz Workshop Revisited (an excellent 1962 live date), Cannonball Takes Charge (an authoritative 1959 studio session), and Cannonball's Bossa Nova (featuring Sergio Mendes) were originally recorded for and/or released by Riverside. But, his surprising Fiddler On The Roof (1964) was all new. The popular LP Mercy Mercy Mercy (1966, billed as "live at The Club," which it is not) is also very good, and it gave Adderley the biggest hit of his career.

Contrary to popular wisdom, Adderley pushed and stretched his music later in his career, experimenting with electric music, among other things. But the soulful sides are what he did best (and is best known for), and Capitol's Best Of Cannonball Adderley nicely sums up this aspect of his career. And, it is a good companion to Fantasy's Greatest Hits. Under their Blue Note imprint, Capitol also collaborated with Verve to produce The Definitive Cannonball Adderley; in a word, it's not definitive (it would take a boxed set to achieve that), but it cherry picks cuts from four labels and spans 15 years - something no other album has attempted.

Adderley continued to record for Capitol until 1973. He switched briefly to Motown and then to Fantasy before returning to Capitol shortly before his death. All told, the recordings of Cannonball Adderley are many and varied; as many as we've discussed here, there are dozens more. Collecting Cannonball, then, becomes a daunting task. Thankfully, some good compilations exist to expedite the process - though none are any more comprehensive than the all-too-brief Definitive Cannonball Adderley. 

Together, five discs - Spontaneous Combustion (Savoy), Ultimate (Verve), Somethin' Else (Blue Note), Greatest Hits (Fantasy), and Capitol's Best Of (which overlaps slightly with Fantasy's set) - provide a good start, comprising an ad hoc boxed set (sans box) that surveys most of Adderley's prolific catalog. Plus, a huge amount of Cannonball's repertoire is now available for download, making it easier to fill in the gaps. Beyond that, jazz buffs will find a cornucopia of albums to dig - most reissued on CD more than once. 

Source: http://www.randysrodeo.com/jazz/adderley.php

---------------

Discography

As a leader

Julian Cannonball Adderley and Strings (1955)
Jump For Joy (1957)
Portrait of Cannonball (1958)
Somethin' Else (1958) - with Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Sam Jones, Art Blakey
Things Are Getting Better (1958)
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago (1959) - with John Coltrane
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (1959)
Cannonball and Coltrane (1959)
Blue Spring (1959) - with Kenny Dorham
At the Lighthouse (1960)
Them Dirty Blues (1960)
What Is This Thing Called Soul? (1960)
Sweet and Lovely (1960/1961)
Know What I Mean? (1961) - with Bill Evans
African Waltz (1961)
The Quintet Plus (1961)
Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley (1961)
In New York (1962)
Cannonball's Bossa Nova (1962)
Dizzy's Business (1962)
Jazz Workshop Revisited (1963)
Nippon Soul (1963)
Fiddler on the Roof (1964)
Domination (1965) - Orchestrated and arranged by Oliver Nelson
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' (1966)
Cannonball in Japan (1966)
Why Am I Treated So Bad! (1967)
74 Miles Away (1967)
Radio Nights (1967)
Accent On Africa (1968)
Country Preacher (1969)
The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970)
The Black Messiah (Live) (1972)
Inside Straight (1973)
Pyramid (1974)
Love, Sex, and the Zodiac (1974)
Phenix (1975)
Big Man (1975) (Musical with Joe Williams and Randy Crawford)

As sideman

With Miles Davis
Milestones (1958)
Miles & Monk at Newport (1958)
Jazz at the Plaza (1958)
Porgy and Bess (1958)
Kind of Blue (1959)

As a producer

Wide Open Spaces (1960) - David Newman
A Portrait of Thelonious (1961) - Bud Powell
Don Byas & Bud Powell - Tribute To Cannonball (1961)

Awards

1967 Grammy Award, Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group or Soloist with Small Group for "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'" by Cannonball Adderley Quintet.