Cannonball

Cannonball Adderley has always been one of my favorite sax players and this footage finds him beside the über-hip Yusef Lateef. Lateef’s Psychicemotus is one of my favorite jazz albums. My vinyl copy hasn’t seen the light of day in a few years.



I still haven’t bought a turntable [since moving to Chicago five years ago], so my vinyl collection is sitting in limbo. I know Impulse and Blue Note have reissued most of the classics on vinyl, but it’s a better feeling when a day spent going through the record bins results in finding an original pressing of something you’ve been searching for. This group alternated players during the same time period, so I think the other incarnation of Cannonball’s lineup included Victor Feldman (p, vib), Wes Montgomery (g), and Ray Brown (b) instead of those in the video.

There’s a lyrical quality to Cannonball’s solos that simultaneously hold the aloof phrasing of cool jazz but also an element of a sort-of musical sarcasm. Cannonball, in his solos, seems evasive. Its apparent that he has a musical depth that saves songs such as this from what might have seemed like a forgettable pop tune if it were played by lesser hands.