Nat Adderley Junior

Nat Adderley Jr. (born May 23, 1955 in Quincy , Florida ) is an American arranger , composer and pianist specializing in pop , R&B and jazz music .

Live and act

Adderley comes from a well-known American family of musicians; his father was the cornet player Nat Adderley , his uncle the alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley . He grew up in Teaneck , New Jersey and started playing the piano early. When he was eleven, Cannonball and his father Nat recorded his composition I'm on My Way , which appeared on the album Why Am I Treated So Bad! ( Capitol , 1967) appeared.

His professional career then took place outside of jazz in the pop and R&B scene, primarily as musical director and arranger for the singer Luther Vandross , whom he studied at New York's LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in the mid-1970s got to know. In 1979 he continued his studies in African-American Studies in the graduate program at Yale University in Houston , Texas , where he played with Arnett Cobb and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson . In 1981, Adderley arranged song material for Vandross' first hit album Never Too Much ; he worked with the R&B singer until February 2003 when Vandross suffered a stroke and had to end his career. He also played with artists such as Aretha Franklin , Natalie Cole , Gregory Hines , Miles Jaye and Mavis Staples . In his later years he returned to jazz and performed with his own compositions. He took part in a tribute concert with saxophonist Tom Scott for Cannonball and Nat Adderley; he was also an accompanist for the singer Paulette McWilliams .

In a 2009 interview with Star Ledger, he named Kenny Barron , Herbie Hancock , Cedar Walton and Joe Zawinul as key influences. He lives in West Orange, New Jersey .

Web links

• Nat Adderley Jr. at Allmusic (English)
• Nat Adderley junior at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Stewart, Zan. Born to swing: Nat Adderley Jr. returns to his roots , The Star-Ledger , accessed June 12, 2011.