CANNONBALL
ADDERLEY
Cannonball Plays Zawinul
Capitol Jazz
Joe Zawinul was Cannonball Adderley’s
not-so-secret weapon. The Austrian-born keyboard player
contributed solid straight ahead piano work to Adderley’s
best known and loved quintet recordings. In addition, Zawinul
had talent as a composer and was one of the early adopters
of the Fender Rhodes electric piano; he was also one of
the most talented musicians to play the instrument. Along
with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, Zawinul pretty much
defined the sound of the Fender in jazz fusion and, by extension,
in popular music in general. Adderley encouraged Joe to
write for his band, and was receptive to the progressive
sounds that Zawinul came up with. The result was a musical
partnership that was truly inspired. Needless to say, Adderley’s
band recorded a large number of Zawinul compositions, and
on Cannonball Plays Zawinul, the composer/pianist
himself chooses the tunes to be included.
Zawinul leads off with a thirteen-plus minute
version of “74 Miles Away” from the album of
the same name. With Nat Adderley on cornet and a rhythm
section comprised of Victor Gaskin on bass and Roy McCurdy
on drums, the band takes the listener on a sonic trip that
is as fantastic as it is extravagant. Nat’s cornet
solo is the calm after brother Julian’s storm, but
his Arabic melodic figures add spice to his understated
performance. There is a broad variety of styles here, and
that demonstrates the ability of Zawinul to adapt his ideas
to various situations. For example, the gentle bossa nova
“Mystified (aka Angel Face)” features bassist
Richard Davis and drummer Grady Tate as well as an orchestra
arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. It demonstrates
how Cannonball’s sharp alto tone could cut through
any arrangement and become the focal point of the listener’s
attention.
“Money In the Pocket” is soul
jazz plain and simple, complete with the kind of drum rhythms
heard on James Brown’s early recordings. Adderley
was expert at identifying the point where the average listener
would focus in or space out, and would provide something
to draw the listener’s attention back in at regular
intervals. Nat Adderley plays a progressively heating solo,
until he quotes the Bobby Timmons composition “Dis
Here” to finish, only to Cannonball pick up with that
same phrase and proceed to increase the heat from there.
Truly incendiary! Zawinul is already showing an ability
to draw elements from bebop and post-bop straight ahead
jazz and incorporate them into a newer, soul/funk-influenced
piece. You hear elements of this in “One Man’s
Dream” and “Hippodelphia”, even though
both pieces largely present themselves as straight-ahead
jazz tunes.
Rounding out the collection are a live rendition
of “Yvette” that features Zawinul prominently
on acoustic piano, “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” the
Zawinul-penned hit song that featured the composer on the
Fender Rhodes electric piano, “NDO Lima” an
African folk-tinged composition that features a full orchestra.
The final track is a lengthy go at “Dr. Honorus Causa,”
a tribute to Herbie Hancock and a song that Zawinul would
revisit with Weather Report. In fact, it provides a preview
of what Weather Report would sound like, at least early
on. This version, from the album The Black Messiah,
features George Duke on the electric piano, and Adderley
on soprano sax. Cannonball Plays Zawinul is an
outstanding record of the musical relationship between two
men who had a profound influence on other musicians playing
in the jazz/improvisational idiom. If you’ve already
got all of these albums in your collection (quite possible
if you’re a heavy Cannonball fan) then this may be
superfluous, but overall I’d say it’s a welcome
addition to Adderley’s catalog, a catalog that deserves
all the exposure it can get.
