CANNONBALL ADDERLEY
Radio Nights (Hyena Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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It's said that you shouldn't put new wine into old skins, but anyone tempted to argue the converse should check out legendary producer Joel Dorn's new label first. He's launched Hyena Records with the re-release of the four titles that made up the catalog of his first indie effort, Night Records. Those four titles have been treasures on the collector's market since the original label's demise, and this disc is among the very best of them.

Radio Nights documents a pair of broadcasts from New York's Half Note jazz club during the last week of 1967 and the first week of 1968. In one case, Adderley appeared with his great quintet featuring his brother Nat on cornet, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums. In the other case, it was the sextet, with Charles Lloyd's tenor augmenting Adderley's alto, Louis Hayes in the drum chair and Nat, Zawinul and Jones back on board. In either case, these are among the finest gatherings of jazz musicians of any period. The disc closes with a montage of song introductions recorded at Keystone Korner in San Francisco, providing a look at another of the skills that made Cannonball Adderley a favorite with jazz audiences from coast to coast and beyond the seas.

These are terrific performances by legendary groups and the return of this music to general distribution is an immeasurable service to jazz fans.

Track List:

The Little Boy With The Sad Eyes * Midnight Mood * Stars Fell On Alabama * Fiddler On The Roof * Work Song * The Song My Lady Sings * Unit Seven * Cannonball Monologues

© 2002 - Shaun Dale