Julian “Cannonball” Adderley - “Somethin’ Else”
Tracks:
- Autumn Leaves
- Love for Sale
- Somethin’ Else
- One for Daddy-O
- Dancing in the Dark
- Alison’s Uncle
Since getting into jazz, and even before, I knew or at least heard of Cannonball Adderley. But as the years have gone by I have not become a huge fan of his. This album however, which I stumbled across when a member of the BMG Jazz CD Club, has become a favorite. The reason I picked it up was because of Miles Davis (trumpet) and Art Blakey (drums) lending their talents to it.
All five musicians (including Sam Jones on bass and Hank Jones on piano) come up with some great performances. An interesting note is that this album was a mix of styles. (Though I like early jazz, it is still hard for me to tell them apart.) Adderley was big on the “bop” scene, while Davis was leading the charge on the “cool” jazz side. Hank Jones came from a big band sound, and Blakey was leading the new lines of “hard bop” and “hard funk” at the time. I think regardless of jazz fans’ tastes, this is an album that is hard not to like.
Davis’ muted trumpet especially catches my ear on this album. “Love for Sale” has a very catchy melody that he plays, where as Adderley and Hank Jones take the solos. “Autumn Leaves” and “One for Daddy-O” are also stellar songs. There is a nice combination of saxophone and trumpet, though they play separately most of the time. One exception is the spunky beginning of “Alison’s Uncle”. Also, “Dancing in the Dark” is a nice slower piece that exclusively features Adderley.
I have a tendency to listen to more jazz during the winter months. Not sure why. No matter the reason, this one gets some heavy airplay along with my other favorite jazz albums.
Recent Comments