Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley

The ’60s would continue to be Cannonball Adderley’s most fruitful period, recording no fewer than 28 albums under his own name by the end of the decade…

Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley - Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley (1961) {Capitol Jazz rel 1993}
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© 1961, 1993 Capitol Jazz | CDP 0777 7 81204 2 1
Jazz / Standards / Vocal Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

An excellent collaboration of Nancy Wilson's voice with Cannonball Adderley's alto sax from the early '60s. While this 1961 recording was the first time Wilson was with Adderley in the studio, it was not the first time they had worked together. After singing with Rusty Bryant's band, Wilson had worked with Adderley in Columbus, Ohio. (It was there that Adderley encouraged her to go to N.Y.C. to do some recording, eventually leading to this session.) Not entirely a vocal album, five of the 12 cuts are instrumentals.

One of the great alto saxophonists to emerge from the hard bop era, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley possessed an exuberant, bright tone that communicated directly and emotionally. With live audiences, his intelligent banter about the music's presentation, combined with wry humor, made him popular.

One of the great alto saxophonists to emerge from the hard bop era, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley possessed an exuberant, bright tone that communicated directly and emotionally. With live audiences, his intelligent banter about the music's presentation, combined with wry humor, made him popular.

Nancy Wilson's not the first name in bluesy jazz (check out Dinah Washington and Joe Williams for that), but she usually can enliven the form with her sophisticated and sultry style. That's made clear on her rendition of "Stormy Monday Blues," where she eschews blues clichés in favor of a husky airiness, at once referencing a lowdown mood and infusing it with a sense of buoyancy. This split is nicely essayed on Capitol's Blues and Jazz Sessions, as half the tracks ooze with Wilson's cocktail blues tone and the other find the jazz-pop chanteuse in a summery and swinging mood. Ranging from the big band blues of "I've Got Your Number" to the lilting bossa nova "Wave," Wilson handles all the varying dynamics and musical settings with aplomb. Featuring cuts from her '60s prime with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Oliver Nelson, George Shearing, Gerald Wilson, and a host of top sidemen, this best-of disc offers a fine, off-the-beaten-path overview of Wilson's Capitol heyday.

A "greatest hits" album, a concept pioneered by Columbia Records, is usually thought of as a compilation containing the single recordings by an artist that scored on the charts. In that sense, one might wonder what business Columbia had releasing a Nancy Wilson album called Greatest Hits since, in her 12-year tenure with the label, she had only placed four singles on the R&B charts, none of which reached the top half of the list.

Diva Nancy Wilson was among contemporary music's most stylish and sultry vocalists; while often crossing over into the pop and R&B markets – and even hosting her own television variety program – she remained best known as a jazz performer, renowned for her work alongside figures including Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing.