Big Man

Digitally remastered edition of this 1975 album by the Jazz great. In what would turn out to be the final years of his short life, jazz great Julian "Cannonball" Adderley embarked on a number of ambitious, genre-stretching projects. The last of these was 1975's Big Man, the score for a musical play based on the John Henry ("the steel driving man") American folk legend. The album was released as a two-LP set with libretto, and featured music from Adderley and his then-current musical associates including brother Nat Adderley, George Duke (using the alias "Dawilli Gonga"), Roy McCurdy, Airto Moreira, Carol Kaye and others. The sessions also made full use of a large string section and chorus, while the primary vocalists in Big Man sang and read their lines in character; the vocal cast included lead vocalist Joe Williams, Randy Crawford, and Robert Guillaume. Long out of print and never before issued on CD, Real Gone Music's reissue of Big Man boasts liner notes by Bill Kopp with quotes from Robert Guillaume, and the full libretto, with remastering by Joe Tarantino. The final artistic statement from a jazz giant!

It's not obvious from listening to it, but Popa Chubby's Big Man Big Guitar is a compilation of two live albums that were previously only available in Europe: Live at FIP and Wild. The CD is the sister title to a DVD, too, and while the release may show every sign of being a souvenir of the video, or a thrown-together hodgepodge, it isn't at all. Chubby's known for his blistering live sets, but this collection takes a risk by having a gradual dramatic arc, starting slowly with a slinky version of "Hey Joe" and working its way up to the frenzied "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Time Is Killing Me" (consider the solo performance of "How'd a White Boy Get the Blues," a gutsy encore).

By the time John Mayall recorded this album in Los Angeles mid-1980, the core lineup of his band had played hundreds of shows together over the previous year and were a tight and well-oiled electric blues machine. This album encompasses the absolute contemporary experience, complete with airtight rhythm section, piercing guitar licks and Mayall s fierce harmonica. Big Man Blues is a more than worthy addition to any blues fans collection.