King Porter Stomp (Gil Evans)

For Jelly Roll Morton, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman. These cats effectively 'modernized' the classic stomp for the 1950s. Cannonball Adderley really carries it. 

Cannonball's Rose Room

It's always interesting to hear how bop and post-bop jazz artists interpreted some of the gems from the era of early jazz or swing. Since we've been fond of Benny Goodman's recording of "Rose Room" featuring Charlie Christian for so long, we sought more modern interpretations of the standard. Adderley does not disappoint.

Cannonball and Bill

I keep coming back to recordings featuring both Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley. Adderley was probably my favorite alto saxophonist in 2010 and 2011, but I have not listened to him much since then. Other alto greats, such as Ornette Coleman, occupied my attention. But Adderley's soulful alto is the perfect counterpoint to Bill Evans. Adderley's sound pushed Bill to a bluesier direction, conspicuous in his too-brief solo here. 

Waltz For Debby

My favorite song by Bill Evans with one of my favorite alto saxophonists. Adderley's soulful sound surprisingly works quite well with the introspective style of Bill Evans. Hearing their collaboration brings back some of the best moments of Kind of Blue. 

Cannonball Adderley's Country Preacher

 

Cannonball Adderley’s Country Preacher, live album

It all begins with Black English vernacular-inflected introduction by Jesse Jackson, since the concert was performed for his Operation Breadbasket in Chicago. “Walk Tall” is a funky number led by the organ and a funky drummer, appealing to the ghetto of Chicago and across Black America. In addition to bringing the funk, it has a gospel-styled melody, soulful and optimistic for the future of ghetto Black Metropolis. The electric organist gets down, too, while that drummer keeps the heavy backbeat going with some nice rolls. The crowd response seems to indicate enjoyment, too, and Cannonball introduces “Country Preacher,” where he speaks about Operation Breadbasket. It’s a slower number, also gospel-inflected, with the keys provided by Joe Zawinul, a European playing more soulful blues and gospel jazz than most other cats could back then. The crowd seems to enjoy this too, cheering just as Adderley’s soulful, contemplative solo begins. Adderley ends the piece urging Rev. Jackson to preach. “Hummin’” proceeds, with some nice soul-clapping, tambourines, and a funky riff from Zawinul. Indeed, this entire album could serve as a goldmine for hip-hop cratediggers, eager to lay their hands on some funky soul-jazz and jazz-funk from this period. Adderley’s brother, Nat, takes over on the soloing, blowing some nice trumpet funk, asserting the primacy of the blues while cognizant of the new thing in black music, funk. Adderley’s subsequent soloing, is also keeping the funk groove in mind, soaring at times while remaining mostly tame as Zawinul keeps on makin’ it funky, as James Brown would approve. This is my jam, alongside the next track, “Oh, Babe,” famously sampled by Atmosphere for “Guns and Cigarettes.”

“Oh, Babe,” beginning with a soulful blues wail from Cannonball, also keeps things funky through Zawinul and the careful gut-bucket rhythm by the drummer. Adderley, introducing the piece, talks about the need to pay our respects to the blues, talking about the song as a soulful excursion into “the past, present and future of our music,” a collective we asserting the power and transcendence of the blues while a blues shouter takes over, who exhiliarates the crowd. “I’m like a Mississippi hound dog, babe” must be my favourite line, as well as the “Please, Mr. Nixon, don’t cut that welfare off on me,” marking the song as political, humorous, and relevant to the concerns, experiences, and political views of the audience. The Zawinul solo, funky and bluesy, is the part sampled by Atmosphere, a well-chosen part of the song to sample. Once our vocalist returns, he continues in the blues wail while the horns play call and response, and the vocalist inserts some more humorous commentary and his plan to find a new love. This is a fun, at times silly, blues piece and funky and relevant to the audience. Adderley introduces the next song while focusing on black music, what it is, and speaks about black music as out of the same thing, not being the same. The song, “Afro-Spanish Omelette, is a suite-like composition of four tunes by each bandmate, and veering from the soul-jazz and funk of the previous compositions, entering into modal territory. Adderley’s trumpet evokes Sketches of Spain quite well while the bassist, drummer, and Zawinul provide background atmosphere superbly. When things start swinging and the drummer, sounding not unlike Elvin Jones, kicks in, things get interesting, especially under Adderley’s shrieking, elephantine sounds. The bassist takes over, playing something “Moorish,” introducing the next segment of the piece, sounding like Reggie Workman from Coltrane’s “Olé” but ultimately begins to bore after a while without any bandmate accompaniment. Zawinul takes over, fortunately, and the drummer adds in some funky playing while he explores something that sounds between Afro-Caribbean Latin music (at times) and jazz fusion. His feature is light-hearted, sweet, contemplative, and introspective, while never tiring or declining into mindless noodling, rather venturing into new heights before ending rather poorly. Better yet, Adderley’s saxophone feature, beginning with bluesy wails, turns into Afro-Caribbean or Cuban-inflected music, with appropriate drumming and the rest of the band. It is a meeting of African-American bebop, blues, and Latin music, which, as we can see in “Jive Samba,” is something Adderley handles adeptly. By far my favourite part of “Afro-Spanish Omelette,” the drummer is definitely enjoying himself and Adderley’s light-hearted, cute soloing, reflective of bebop lines, of course, remains in the spirit of jazz’s Caribbean heritage. It’s impossible for the listener to not want to clap their hands, dance, or sway their feet with the infectious rhythm, particularly during Adderley and the band playing call and response and introducing even more Caribbean-inflected horn duos to repeat an adorable melody to close the composition. 

 

The album ends on a high note, “The Scene” with a sermonic line stating the audience’s shared belief in their worth, declaring, “I am somebody” and “Sock it to me.” Adderley’s band ends with some swinging and Adderley exhorting on the values of soul power. He gracefully thanks the audience, the band, and the groove the band and audience collectively created. For a record of some of Operation Breadbasket’s appeal to Black Chicagoans and the use of music and art for this period in the Black Power/Civil Rights Movement, this album is invaluable, despite some less than pleasant moments. Highly recommendable, I give this a 3.5 out of 5, with a restatement of its accessibility, entertainment quality, and funkiness. As a product of its time, the listener is rewarded immeasurably by an entry into this period in the life of Jesse Jackson, the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, and an important period in the Black Freedom Struggle in the United States.

Jive Samba

Cannonball's brother, Nat, wrote a funky piece that lives up to it's title, "Jive Samba." As the name would suggest, it's funky, drenched in blues, and set to a samba rhythm which was such a craze in the 1960s. Also, one can see how Cannonball Adderley, like other soul jazz-oriented artists of the 1960s, aimed at African-American audiences who were turning to funk and soul instead of the jazz of their parents. Recorded concerts at clubs and various venues, from San Francisco to Chicago, show lively interaction and entrenched African-American vernacular English, as well as popular culture, gospel traditions, and a general atmosphere of fun and joviality. This is the type of relaxed, crowd-pleasing jazz, giving the people the kind of music they wanted to hear: funky, gospel-tinged, bluesy, and, at times, a crossover pop hit. Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder was a surprise hit, as well as some of the songs Cannonball recorded in the 1960s: "African Waltz" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," each one funky in its own way yet still jazz. "Jive Samba" encapsulates 1960s Adderley, paying tribute to jazz's roots, new trends in African-American and mainstream music (rock, funk, soul), and, at the same time, ambitious, with soulful, at times honking solos from Adderley that reach majestic heights. The simple piano vamp that builds the song, just a few chords, is nonetheless allows some freedom for the instrumentalists to stretch out, playing blues lines while also retaining the samba-like feel throughout the song and, at times, almost a gospel-like clap in the rhythms, transporting one to a funky church service with some Cuban and Brazilian flavor.

Some versions incorporate Cuban-derived melodic lines, especially Yusef Lateef's solo, which alone makes the song worthy of listen since any one who recognizes the flute melody in "Soul Bossa Nova," a hit by Quincy Jones will appreciate it. The Cuban ostinato is particularly evident during Adderley's solo on a version of the tune from a live show in 1963. Thus, this song not only remains indebted to the bossa nova craze and blues, but Latin soul, boogaloo, and Cuban mambo/son music that inspires a typical Cuban improvisational flute solo. Moreover, the song's conclusion on the emphasized piano chords builds tension perfectly before the horns lower the heat on this stew of a jam. The crowd response in live recordings also contributes to a priceless recording, which can be best heard on the version from Jazz Workshop Revisited in a San Francisco club, where audience members (or perhaps Adderley himself or other bandmates?) say, "All right" and encourage each other. Interestingly, while this fusion of bossa nova with African-American soul and R&B was taking place, some Brazilian popular artists were incorporating rock, soul and funk into their repertoire, as a quick listen to Jorge Ben, Os Mutantes, or Wilson Simonal will illustrate. What we have here is cross-Atlantic musical exchanges: jazz to samba to create bossa nova, blues and soul with jazz, and Cuban and Puerto Rican influences in the ostinato melody.

Somethin' Else

Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else featuring Miles Davis and Art Blakey is one of the acclaimed jazz albums that lives up to the hype. Released by Blue Note in 1958, the year before Davis's Kind of Blue, the album brings the clash of styles between Davis and Adderley to the fore. The music has a restrained, yet also exuberant feel, which could be attributed to the different styles of Adderley and Davis. Adderley's playing was rooted in the blues and hard bop school, whereas Miles Davis was one of progenitors of cool jazz, a sub-genre often racialized as "white" and lacking the strong grooves and blues influences of hard bop. Interestingly, the inherent clash in their styles is probably what makes this album so good. Moreover, most of the sidemen on this recording follow the hard bop tradition, yet they play in the subdued, restrained style, limiting themselves to rhythm for the most part. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Miles Davis co-led the recording session, evidenced by the title track being composed by Miles Davis and several of the numbers and arrangements were chosen by Davis. 

The first song, "Autumn Leaves," is a French song called "Les Feuilles Mortes" that became a pop standard in America. The song is dominated by Adderley and Davis, whose solos exemplify their stylistic divergence. Davis, however, seems to dominate the track, since he arranged it (based on an Ahmad Jamal arrangement) and plays the melody and first solo. The rest of the 11 minute song is essentially Davis and Cannonball Adderley exchanging licks, with Adderley tending to play in the bluesy, soulful style he usually uses. The band slows it down near the end of the piece, but the pianist, bassist, and drummer (Art Blakey) never get a chance to shine. Regardless of their lack of improvisational opportunities, the bassist's groove keeps the song going. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u37RF5xKNq8

The next song, "Love for Sale," is a Cole Porter standard and song for Cannonball Adderley to show off his Charlie Parker-esque skills. Blakey makes things more interesting with a Latin beat and Hank Jones introduces the piece with an elegant piano introduction one would hear in bourgie old films. Adderley for the most part blows through the changes in a bluesy, Parker-like tone and style that brings to mind the hard bop school of jazz. Fortunately, Art Blakey's drumming keeps everything going and Hank Jones fills in on piano to provide harmony and Sam Jones on bass is walking. All the while Adderley wails, moans and shouts on his alto saxophone, sounding like Charlie Parker reincarnated. Near the end, Hank Jones, the pianist, gets a very short solo, and Miles Davis restates the song's melody on the trumpet, concluding with Art Blakey's Latin rhythms.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tSYXpq2kW0

The title track, "Somethin' Else," is a bluesy romp composed by Davis. Like "Autumn Leaves," Davis and Cannonball get the only real solos, except for a short piano solo that doesn't go anywhere. It's funky, fun, and swinging, courtesy of Sam Jones's bass and Art Blakey's incessant polyrhythms. Davis surprisingly demonstrates competency with the blues form that one wouldn't expect from a jazz musician, bending, wailing, and shouting bluesy lines to make his trumpet cry. Adderley takes it to the next level, however. Adderley, more proficient in the blues language, sends Davis to school with long blues licks and playing in all registers of his saxophone. Adderley then takes his solo into the bebop/Charlie Parker school, before returning to the blues. Then Miles and Cannonball play together, with Davis leading and Adderley following. Once they're done, we're treated to a Hank Jones piano solo, which doesn't match up to Davis and Adderley, unfortunately. Fortunately, Davis and Adderley play together again to bring it home, through call and response. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kag0vqS8CU&feature=related

My favorite song from the album, "One for Daddy-O," a Nat Adderley original written in honor of a black Chicago radio DJ, is another bluesy piece. Introduced with a bluesy piano lick by Hank Jones, the horns come in with Miles and Adderley stating the song's melody. Adderley takes the first solo, which soars and soars. Coming to it's end, he calls and responds to himself in his solo. Then Davis takes a solo, with a strong bass accompaniment and Art Blakey's characteristically polyrhythmic approach to drumming. Davis soars as well, taking you left and right before letting his trumpet scream blues-inflected cries. Davis's 'soul' be comin' out now, with some fine comping by the pianist. The song demonstrates the blues-based swing of hard bop, but Davis's solo and the relaxed nature of cool jazz, with Blakey, Sam Jones, and Hank Jones never playing too fast or taking too much of a lead role. Jones's piano solo is well-played here, focusing on the higher keys of the keyboard, which he travels across diligently. Adderley then picks up after Jones's brief interlude, with essentially what he played earlier in his first solo. Miles Davis then brings it home near the last minute, with another blues-drenched solo, before Jones gets another brief piano solo. Then the horns restate the melody, never losing the "cool" or laid-back feel that began the song. Davis closes in his whisper of a voice, "Is that what you wanted, Alfred." Alfred was one of the founders of Blue Note Records, the label that released Somethin' Else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2xx3YTu2ac&feature=related

Adderley gets his own solo piece, "Dancing in the Dark," a beautiful standard for late nights. Apparently Davis convinced Adderley to do this piece, which was a good thing. His alto sax soars brilliantly above the dark clouds, but never strays too far from the blues either. Davis sits out on this one, and the rhythm section swings gently (which is quite rare from Art Blakey), giving Adderley all the time in the world to improvise in only a little more than 4 minutes. Adderley's solo demonstrates his mastery of the blues and jazz standards, perhaps dominated by his hard bop background.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsxcZ8qNCAQ&feature=related

The final track, not part of the original album, "Bangoon," or "Alison's Uncle," is a fun Hank Jones hard bop piece. Jones and Blakey get a chance to really shine here. Davis takes a brief solo that, like the song's melody, doesn't leave the blues-based path already set. Adderley, on the other hand, has a fun solo that matches the song's light-hearted sound and uptempo feel, which makes this song quite different from the rest of the album's relaxed feel. Hank Jones's piano solo is also sweet and fast, like the song. Blakey then takes a thunderous solo over which he can be heard humming, which is always a pleasure to hear these most human of moments going on in the recording studio. One more thing which must be pointed out, is the "Africaness" of Blakey's drumming, which at times sounds like a hand drum due to him using his elbows, and his use of Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCVvqHDaXOo&feature=related

Indeed, this album is one of those critically acclaimed albums that does live up to the hype. In fact, I like it more than Kind of Blue, which must sound blasphemous to many jazz lovers. Cannonball is at his best here, and though this album may seem to be more Miles than Cannonball, I prefer Cannonball's playing on the album. 

Autumn Leaves

"Les Feuilles Mortes" (The Dead Leaves) became "Autumn Leaves" in the United States since it was believed that the title was too depressing for American audiences in the 1950s. Composed by Joseph Kosma, a Hungarian-French composer, for the 1940s French film, Les Portes de la Nuit. Yves Montand first sang the song in the film.

French chanteuse Edith Piaf also sang the song in both its French and English forms.

The American lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer in 1947 and the earliest recording was made by Jo Stafford

American pianist Roger Williams recorded a hit instrumental version of the tune in 1955

Nat King Cole also had success with the song, his version being used in the credit sequence of a 1950s film, Autumn Leaves.

Ahmad Jamal peformed a jazz-inspired take of the song which was influential for the Cannonball Adderley/Miles Davis interpretation on Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else album in 1958. Miles Davis arranged the tune for Cannonball and lifted the bassline from Ahmad Jamal's version. Of course Jamal's version is Latin-tinged and distinctive because of it.

The Cannonball Adderley/Miles Davis take features Art Blakey on drums and Cannonball's bluesy soloing. The best version of the song in my book.

Bill Evans also recorded the song a number of times. Scott LaFaro's bass takes the song into some interesting directions. LaFaro's bass is so melodic it surpasses its role as rhythm.

 "Autumn Leaves" has become one of the most enduring jazz standards, performed by jazz musicians to this day. The chord progression itself uses a sequence quite common in jazz and is quite easy for a jazz musician to practice improvising over.