"Fiddler On the Roof has always been my most favorite musical. I've watched it trillion times and I just adore everything about it. In addition to this I'm a true jazz fan, I adore the sound of the sax and I like Cannonball very much. So it's a "can't get any better" kind of CD to me. Cannonball's true genious takes you to another world.. The songs are great.. What's not to like?! Well, for one thing he didn't play "If I Were a Rich Man". That could have made the recording perfect. After all isn't that the most famous song of the musical?
But it includes my favorite, "To Life" and Cannonball plays it totally wonderful.
If you like jazz and/or the musical itself You have to own this CD."
Cannonball at his best -- and the rest, too.
D. S. Jones | 06/02/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This has been my favorite Cannonball record ever since it was first recorded. I've been waiting decades for it to appear in CD form. What a great surprise to see it today on Amazon.com. Actually, two of the tracks have appeared before on CD -- the title track on a "best of" compilation and my absolute favorte - Now I Have Everything - has appeared in a compilation of Adderley ballad performances.Cannonball had a fat soul -- everything he played seemed designed to make you smile and laugh. When you hear Now I Have Everything, you'll believe it.A wonderful album. I actually have two vinyl copies of it -- each to get around the scratches and worn spots in the other."
A new Tradition!
Simone Farber | Los Angeles, CA USA | 07/02/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'd never heard of this album until I heard a clip serving as a bumper for a radio story on the Broadway revival. This album is a wonderful interpretation of music I've know well for ages. Since Broadway musicals and jazz music are considered our most 'american' art forms, it's wonderful to see them mixed this way. To address the reviewer that didn't like the audio mix, my sound system is probably several degrees lower than his, but the cd sounded great to me."
Great playing, poor mix
D. S. Jones | Richmond, VA | 02/13/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I have fond recollections of this LP from many years ago, but I am dissappointed in the CD. Sure the playing is great but the mix is absolutely terrible...flute too loud, flute too soft, drums too loud, drums too soft, leaky embouchure front and center on the ballads. The LP had a smoother sound, and the group sounded like they meshed. This sounds like 6 guys playing in different rooms. I am sure the original tapes were not of the highest quality, but they should have been left alone."
Cannonball Sax On The Roof
Brian Schiff | Detroit Mi. USA | 10/11/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If the music in 'Fiddler' on Broadway was done with Zero Mostel-and The Cannonball Adderley Sextet,it would never have closed.This masterpiece which features Cannonball on alto sax ,brother Nat on trumpet,Charles Lloyd on tenor sax,Joe Zawinul on piano,Louis Hayes on drums and Sam Jones on bass was recorded a month or so after the 1964 Broadway premiere.Given a choice of the play-or this cd-I'll take the cd;worth it for Nat Adderley's trumpet on 'To Life',alone."