Search - Cannonball Adderley :: In New York

An Excellent Introduction to Cannonball

Andrew Stevenson | 12/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Consider this album a first rate accompaniment to the classic Cannonball Adderly album, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." From the enlightening opening remarks of Cannonball himself, through the opening song "Gemini," to "Scotch and Water" (another outstanding song by Joe Zawinul - Cannonball's pianist, composer of the song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and creative force of the Weather Report), this live recording from the Village Vanguard in 1962 demonstates why Cannonball Adderly's bluesy and soulful jazz stands out as a masterpiece of and testament to what is really hip - to play on Cannonball's opening words. The musicians with Adderly are the finest sextet to play with Cannonball, the legendary alto saxophonist who made his early fame playing with the Miles Davis Quintet in the late 50's and early 60's; Zawinul, Nat Adderly, Yusef Lateef, Louis Hayes, and Sam Jones create a wonderfully rich, evocative, and compelling sound which provides Cannonball's saxophone a perfect platform. Pick up this album either as a follow-up to the signature Adderly album, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" or enjoy it as an exquisite introduction to this jazz great."

Great To Have Mr. Lateef On Board!

Andrew Stevenson | Union Springs, New York | 08/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When multi-reed player Yusef Lateef joined Cannonball and Nat he brought an added dimension to the exuberant funk of the Adderley brothers. Just listen to his mysterious composition "Syn-athesia" and you'll hear what I mean. The recipe for the rest of the performances, recorded live in 1962 at the Village Vanguard, is uptempo and everyone was in the mood to play hard! After Cannonball's verbal introduction bassist Sam Jones leads the guys into a rousing Jimmy Heath composition titled "Gemini." Here Yusef gets some particularly wild sounds out of his tenor sax. The heat continues on Lateef's composition "Planet Earth." Another highlight is pianist Joe Zawinul's sprightly tune "Scotch and Water," in which, as Cannonball points out, he tries to capture the exuberance of said drink; he succeed by the way! Another exciting evening of jazz at the Vanguard!"

A good date

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 02/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cannonball revamped the Quintet in the latter half of 1961, replacing Wynton Kelly on piano with Joe Zawinul and adding Yusef Lateef on tenor, flute and oboe--making the unit a sextet. This was their first outing on record, and they do a fine job. The tunes swing pretty hard to good effect, except for the slow-tempo "Syn-anthesia" which is a drag. A nice outing."