Cannonball Adderley Live In Cologne

Recorded live in Tokyo on July 14th and 15th, 1963, Nippon Soul is not the Asian-jazz fusion suggested by the title (check out Cal Tjader's Several Shades of Jade and Breeze From the East for that), but a solid live set that showcases one of Cannonball Adderley's finest groups, featuring himself, brother Nat Adderley on cornet, bassist Sam Jones, drummer Louis Hayes, and most notably pianist Joe Zawinul and reedsman Yusef Lateef. Both near the beginnings of their careers, Zawinul and Lateef nonetheless dominate this set; two of the original tracks are by Lateef, including the centerpiece "Brother John," for John Coltrane and featuring an astonishing extended Lateef solo on oboe, an instrument not normally associated with jazz, but which takes on an almost Middle Eastern fluidity and grace in its approximation of Coltrane's "sheets of sound" technique…

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.

Alto Giant is an exciting live album that captured the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Milan in 1969, two years after the group recorded 74 Miles Away. Cannonball's music in this period is marked by his enthusiastic embrace of funk and jazz rock. In addition to his brother Nat Adderley on trumpet, the quintet included Joe Zawinul on piano, Victor Gaskin on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. In addition to the leader's hot and exciting alto playing, what stand out are Hayes's aggressive and effective drumming and Zawinul's contributions in terms of two original compositions (the odd-meter, free jazz-oriented "Scavenger" and the funky "Walk Tall") and his solo performance of "Ballads Medley." The generosity of the leader extended to Gaskin as well, who was prominently featured on "Manha De Carnaval"…

Cannonball Adderley gave up his own band in 1957 when he had the opportunity to become a sideman in Miles Davis' epic ensemble with John Coltrane, eventually resulting in some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time (including Milestones and Kind of Blue). Davis returned the favor in March of 1958, appearing as a sideman on Adderley's all-star quintet date for Blue Note, and the resulting session is indeed Somethin' Else…

The first three cuts of CD 1 are the first traces of Cannonball in France. Today, they seem especially short to us. But the Adderley brothers were not the only ones playing on this Jazz at the Philharmonic tour organized by Norman Granz. Also on the trip : Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Don Byas, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lalo Shifrin, J.J. Johnson. Sorry there is so little. The other five titles are from the April 15, 1961 concert.
Two changes in the rhythm section of this second Julian and Nat Adderley Quintet : Bobby Timmons is replaced by the English pianist-vibraphonist Victor Feldman (1934-1987) and, on one piece, the addition of then-unknown Ron Carter, which allows bass player Sam Jones (1924-1981) to show off on cello…

The first three cuts of CD 1 are the first traces of Cannonball in France. Today, they seem especially short to us. But the Adderley brothers were not the only ones playing on this Jazz at the Philharmonic tour organized by Norman Granz. Also on the trip : Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Don Byas, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lalo Shifrin, J.J. Johnson. Sorry there is so little. The other five titles are from the April 15, 1961 concert.
Two changes in the rhythm section of this second Julian and Nat Adderley Quintet : Bobby Timmons is replaced by the English pianist-vibraphonist Victor Feldman (1934-1987) and, on one piece, the addition of then-unknown Ron Carter, which allows bass player Sam Jones (1924-1981) to show off on cello…

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. These dates reveal an anomaly in jazz at the time: The recordings are the place on the map where jazz and R&B meet head on, bringing the full force of their respective traditions and neither giving an inch…

Swingin' in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966-1967) is a collection of previously un-issued recordings by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet captured live at the height of his powers over 4 nights at the famous Penthouse Jazz Club in Seattle, WA between 1966 and 1967. Just one week later, Adderley would record his classic Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: Live at ''The Club'' album at the Capitol Records studio in Hollywood, California.