Julian “Cannonball” Adderely: 1928 – 1975
© -Steven Cerra , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
One of the great joys of hearing the late Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s group in person or in performance on record was listening to the cordial and convivial way Cannonball had with his audiences.
He was a man who radiated joy and warmth and these qualities shined through whether he was talking about his music in a general way or giving details about a tune the band just played or was going to play.
Sometimes Cannonball could simply introduce the members of his band and make you feel as though you had been a part of his family for years.
On the following video tribute, the introductions by Cannonball are of the members of his regrettably, short-lived sextet with Cannon on alto saxophone, brother Nat on cornet, the inimitable Yusef Lateef on tenor saxophone [oboe and flute], Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums.
The audio track, variously entitled Cannon’s Theme or Unit 7, was written by bassist Sam Jones and is from the group’s Live in New York: The Cannonball Adderley Sextet which was recorded in 1962 in performance at The Village Vanguard.
Beginning around 1:30 minutes, checkout “Brother” Yusef Lateef’s “bar-walking” tenor saxophone solo.
