Cannonball Adderley

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cannonball Adderley (right) with his brother Nat (1961)

Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (* 15. September 1928 in Tampa , Florida , † 8. August 1975 in Gary , Indiana ) was an American jazz - saxophonist (from 1968 and soprano saxophone ) the period of small combos in the 1950s and 1960s.

Life

After serving as high school band leader in Florida, he went to New York in 1955. He planned to continue studying in Manhattan , but after guest appearance with Oscar Pettiford's band at Cafe Bohemia, the alto saxophonist quickly became a sensation. Many saw him as the new Charlie Parker . But Adderley clearly had his own style, influenced by Benny Carter as much as Parker. He used his early fame and formed his first quintet, in which his younger brother Nat Adderley also played the cornet . While the group was struggling financially, Cannonball drew the attention of Miles Davis , who brought the saxophonist into his sextet for two years in late 1957. There he played alongside John Coltrane ( tenor saxophone ). The most famous recording from this period is the Kind of Blue , recorded in the spring of 1959 , one of the best-selling albums in jazz history. From this time there are also recordings of the Miles Davis sextet without Miles Davis. The combo, reduced to five musicians, released, for example, the album Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago . Special mention should be made of the album " Somethin 'Else " recorded for Blue Note Records , which shows Miles Davis in the very rare role of a sideman, which did not prevent him from contributing a few unforgettable solos.

In September 1959, Cannonball left Miles Davis and played again with Nat in a quintet. Just a month later, the band recorded a live performance at San Francisco's The Jazz Workshop . This time, the group was not denied commercial success. Their version of This Here by pianist Bobby Timmons was particularly successful, and the quintet became the leading group in what would soon be known as soul jazz . From 1959 to 1963 the quintet was under contract with Orrin Keepnews ' Riverside and played mainly soulful interpretations of hard-bop pieces. Yusef Lateef made the group a sextet from 1962 to 1963. After Riverside collapsed in 1963, Cannonball signed with Capitol and his recordings got a little more commercial. Charles Lloyd replaced Lateef for a year - albeit less successfully.

Other members of the quintet were his brother Nat Adderley, the pianists Bobby Timmons , Victor Feldman , Joe Zawinul and George Duke , the bassists Sam Jones (1957, 1959–65), Walter Booker and Vic Gaskin and Louis Hayes (1959–1965) and Roy McCurdy on drums . Cannonball had hits like This Here by Timmons, the work song Nat Adderleys and Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Zawinul.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Adderley turned to fusion . In 1968 he made his debut on the soprano saxophone on the album “Accent on Africa”, but he rarely played it. He had a unique and characteristic sound on it, but this cannot be compared with his voluminous and penetrating alto sound.

Towards the end of his life he reviewed his career: his penultimate album Phenix contained the greatest successes of the Adderley brothers such as Country Preacher , This Here or Work Song as a fusion version and on his last album Lovers he united new and old friends into one Tape. He died before the work on Lovers was finished. The rest of the band completed the work along with Flora Purim (vocals) with the title Lovers, written by Adderley's nephew Nat Jr., as the final bow to Julian Adderley.

Julian Cannonball Adderley suffered from diabetes all his life . His nickname "Cannonball" can be traced back to the slip of the tongue of a classmate. He wanted to call him a cannibal because the obese Adderley was known for its constant hunger. However, “Cannibal” became “Cannonball”. Presumably as a result of this illness, he died suddenly of a stroke in 1975, six weeks after his last album was recorded in Gary , Indiana . He was buried in the South Cemetery in Tallahassee , Florida.

Quotes

“He's the most underrated musician of the century. Hardly anybody talks about Cannonball, but he was a giant. He was his own guy. He didn't play like Charlie Parker. He played like no-one else. "

“He is the most underrated musician of the century. Hardly anyone still talks about Cannonball, but it was a size. He was his own league. He didn't play like Charlie Parker, he played like no one else. "

- Joe Zawinul, 1997

Trivia

Cannonball Adderley made an appearance with David Carradine and Jose Feliciano in 1975 on the fifty-fifth episode of the American television series Kung Fu .

On Here Comes Louis Smith (Blue Note, 1958), the debut album by trumpeter Louis Smith , he played under the pseudonym Buckshot La Funke .

Selected discography

As a band leader

  • Julian Cannonball Adderley: Presenting Cannonball (1955, Savoy)
  • Julian Cannonball Adderley: Same (1956, EmArcy)
  • Cannonball Adderly with Milt Jackson : Things Are Getting Better ( Riverside ), 1958 with Wynton Kelly , Percy Heath , Art Blakey
  • Julian Cannonball Adderley: Somethin 'Else (1958, Blue Note) with Miles Davis, Hank Jones , Sam Jones and Art Blakey
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Live in San Francisco (1959, Riverside) (inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999)
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: At the Lighthouse (1960, Riverside)
  • Cannonball Adderley and His Orchestra: African Waltz (1961, Riverside)
  • Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans: Know What I Mean? (1961, Riverside)
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Plus (1961, Riverside)
  • Cannonball Adderley Sextet: In New York (1962, Riverside) with Yusef Lateef (ts, fl, oboe)
  • Cannonball Adderley Sextet: Nippon Soul (1963, Riverside) live in Tokyo
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! - Live at “The Club” (1966, Capitol)
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Why Am I Treated So Bad! (1967, Capitol)
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Accent on Africa (1968, Capitol) with Letta Mbulu
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Country Preacher (1969, Capitol) with Jesse Jackson
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: Legends Live (1969, Jazzhaus)
  • Cannonball Adderley Quintet: The Price you got to Pay to be Free (1970, Capitol)
  • Cannonball Adderley: The Black Messiah (1970, Capitol)
  • Cannonball Adderley: Phenix (1974, Fantasy)
  • Cannonball Adderley feat. Rick Holmes & The Nat Adderley Sextet : Soul Zodiac (1972, Capitol)

As an accompanying musician

Chart placements

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1963 Jazz Workshop Revisited
Cannonball Adderley Sextet featuring Nat Adderley and Yusef Lateef 		US74 (5 weeks)
US 		-
recorded live in San Francisco
1967 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US13 (27 weeks)
US 		R&B1 (20 weeks)
R&B
recorded live at Club De Lisa in Chicago
Why Am I Treated so Bad!
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US154 (12 weeks)
US 		R&B18 (7 weeks)
R&B
recorded live in Hollywood
74 Miles Away - Walk Tall
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US186 (2 weeks)
US 		R&B26 (2 weeks)
R&B
recorded live in Hollywood
1970 Country Preacher
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US136 (22 weeks)
US 		R&B7 (23 weeks)
R&B
Recorded live in Chicago, with an introduction by Reverend Jesse Jackson
Experience in E, Tensity, Dialogues
Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra 		US194 (2 weeks)
US 		-
1971 The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US169 (2 weeks)
US 		-
1972 The Black Messiah US167 (3 weeks)
US 		-
Soul Zodiac
featuring the Nat Adderley Sextet 		US75 (20 weeks)
US 		R&B11 (5 weeks)
R&B
told by Rick Holmes
1973 Inside Straight
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US179 (5 weeks)
US 		-
1974 Love, Sex and the Zodiac - R&B48 (4 weeks)
R&B
written and narrated by Rick Holmes
Pyramid
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		- R&B45 (8 weeks)
R&B
1975 Big Man - The Legend of John Henry US121 (8 weeks)
US 		R&B59 (2 weeks)
R&B
Concept album with John Henry as the theme

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1961 African Waltz
Cannonball Adderley Orchestra 		US41 (6 weeks)
US 		R&B21 (1 week)
R&B
Author: Galt MacDermot
1962 Save Your Love for Me
Nancy Wilson and the Julian “Cannonball” Adderley Quintet 		- R&B11 (5 weeks)
R&B
1963 The Jive Samba US66 (7 weeks)
US 		-
Author: Nat Adderley
1967 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy US11 (11 weeks)
US 		R&B2 (16 weeks)
R&B
Live recording
Author: Joe Zawinul
Why? (Am I Treated So Bad) US73 (5 weeks)
US 		R&B46 (4 weeks)
R&B
Live recording
Author: Roebuck Staples
1970 Country Preacher
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 		US86 (3 weeks)
US 		R&B29 (10 weeks)
R&B
Live recording
Author: Joe Zawinul

swell

  1. ↑ allmusic.com: Artist Biography by Scott Yanow
  2. ^ Innerviews - Music Without Borders . Anil Prasad, Abstract Logix 2010, ISBN 978-0578015187
  3. ↑ List of Hall of Fame recordings
  4. ↑ a b Cannonball Adderley in the US charts (Billboard)
  5. ↑ a b US singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
  6. ↑ a b US R&B singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents Hot R&B Songs 1942-2010 . Billboard Books, New York 2011, ISBN 0-89820-186-1 . / US R&B albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Albums 1965–1998 . Billboard Books, New York 1999, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .

literature

  • David N. Baker: The Jazz style of Cannonball Adderley. A musical and historical perspective . Studio 224, Lebanon IN 1980.
  • Chris Sheridan: Dis here. A bio-discography of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley . Greenwood Press, Westport CT 2000, ISBN 0-313-30240-5 .

Web links

Commons : Cannonball Adderley  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Adderley, Cannonball
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adderley, Julian Edwin (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Tampa , Florida , USA
DATE OF DEATH August 8, 1975
Place of death Gary , Indiana , USA