A set that's right on target, right from the start – and one that has the young Cannonball Adderley really coming into his groove! The set's a lot more soul jazz-oriented than some of Cannon's records from a few years before – played by a rock-solid group that includes brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Junior Mance on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – hitting a groove that's got plenty of nascent elements of that Cannonball sound that would virtually take over jazz in the 60s! Yet there's also a nicely different vibe going on here too – a bit less structure, and a looser approach to the mode – spun out with some modern moments too, on titles that include "Straight No Chaser", "Jubilation", "Our Delight", "Fuller Bop Man", and "Stay On It".
Elsinore are an adventurous pop group from Illinois whose music combines elements of folk-rock and alt-country as well as indie pop, the latter influence growing stronger as the group's history wears on. Elsinore were formed in 2004 when songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Ryan Groff, keyboard player and vocalist Mark Woolwine, and drummer and vocalist Dave Pride were all studying music at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. The three classmates became friends, and as they discovered they had similar tastes in music, they got together to play open mike nights at Charleston night spots. The three became regulars on the local music scene, and after they met another EIU student, bassist and vocalist Chris Eitel, he joined the group and Elsinore was born.
This excellent live date from the Village Vanguard was the recording debut of the Adderley sextet, with Cannonball waxing eloquently and swingingly on alto, brother Nat charging ahead on cornet, and the versatile Yusef Lateef (who had joined the band only three weeks earlier) adding a bit of an edge on tenor, flute, and unusually for a jazz wind player, oboe on the odd, dirge-like "Syn-Anthesia." Also, this was the first recorded appearance of pianist Joe Zawinul - a little over three years since his arrival in America - in Cannonball's band. This group would be Zawinul's springboard to prominence in the jazz world, and readily apparent is how his compulsively funky mastery of bop and the blues had fused tightly with the Sam Jones/Louis Hayes rhythm section. Included is one of the earliest recordings of a Zawinul composition, "Scotch and Water," a happy, swinging blues.
In a year notable by the too-high incidence of jazz losses, Charles Earland quietly left this planet on Saturday, December 11, 1999. Known as the Mighty Burner for the intense way he commanded the Hammond B-3, the always working, too-heavy 58-year-old Earland made his departure via heart failure following one last performance in Kansas City.
One of the defining players of the 1950s and 1960s hard bop era, Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley remains one of the most respected and fondly-remembered saxophonists in all of jazz. With a sound that was uniquely his own and a repertoire that saw him support - and in turn be supported by - some of the greatest musicians and groups to emerge during the period, Adderley is the stuff of legend. A huge fan of the playing of Charlie Parker and a fierce defender of the entire genre, Adderley s talents rank highly alongside the likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and his catalogue of work as a bandleader is still today among the finest of any jazz master. This collection contains the first eight albums released by Cannonball Adderley as bandleader…
Though best known for their membership in The Strawbs, the rhythm section of John Ford (bass) and Richard Husdon (drums) worked together both before and after their '70-'73 stint with the folk-prog band. The debut album "Nickolodeon" was bolstered by by the presence of Rick Wakeman and other studio sharpshooters, and the band scored a hit in the U.K. with the single "Pick Up the Pieces." The album has a bright, sparkling pop-rock sound but still retains some folk and blues roots; the rest of the songs are good and varied and contribute to an enjoyable and yet unusual type of album in the annals of British 70's rock.