Rumpelstiltskin (Zawinul) [9:29]; Sweet Emma (Nat Adderley) [4:32]; Somewhere (Bernstein) [4:58]; Why am I treated so bad? (Roebuck Staples) [8:13]; The Painted Desert (Zawinul) [10:19]; Oh Babe (Nat Adderley) [6:08]; Blue and Boogie (Dizzy Gillespie) [9:17]; Walk Tall (Zawinul) [2:13]; Work Song (Nat Adderley) [5:07]
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (alto saxophone), Nat Adderley (trumpet, & vocals on
Oh Babe), Joe Zawinul (piano & keyboards), Victor Gaskin (bass), Roy McCurdy (drums)
rec. Live at Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany, March 20, 1969. [60:12]
If he were known for nothing else Cannonball Adderley achieved immortality by being part of the Miles Davis Quintet and his recording of Kind of Blue, a seminal jazz record if there ever was. However, he ploughed his own jazz furrow and achieved legendary status in his own right and this disc is part of JazzHaus records Legends Live series and it is fitting that he should feature as part of it. The concert that took place in Stuttgart on March 20, 1969 that this disc is a recording of is a superb example of Cannonball Adderley's art and, not only of his, but also that of his trumpeter brother Nat who not only shines as quintet member but as composer of 3 of the tunes, as is the great Joe Zawinul, the pianist, keyboard player and composer who went on to form the trail-blazing band Weather Report and whose tune The Painted Desert alone makes the disc a must have. When you put those three elements together and throw into the mix Leonard Bernstein's Somewhere from West Side Story, the beautiful bluesy Why am I treated so bad? plus Blue and Boogie from the incredible Dizzy Gillespie and add the considerable talents of bassist Victor Gaskin and drummer Roy McCurdy, (listen and marvel at his solo on Blue and Boogie), you have a dream team with a dream menu and a recipe to die for that defines the very meaning of `legend'. It is one of those discs you can't get enough of and feel compelled to spin again no soon as it's finished. Other `legends' already on disc from this label are Art Blakey, Gerry Mulligan, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, featuring Anita O'Day, but the promise is even greater since JazzHaus, a division of ArtHaus Musik, has access to over 3000 hours of recordings by SWR, the South West German radio stations in Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz of over 400 ensembles and soloists which they have carefully remastered and aim to release over the next few years and if the present disc is anything to go by I can't wait. The recording here could have been made yesterday and is superbly clean and bright. This disc is a winner in every conceivable way.
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
JazzHaus 101702
