CANNONBALL ADDERLY
Phenix (Fantasy)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This was the last full album completed by Cannonball Adderly before his death in 1975 (the next one, Lovers, was incomplete at the time of his death and was finished without him) and it remains one of the finest tributes to his career, not only because of the fine music contained therein, but because of the unique nature of the project.

The LP release was a two record set, reuniting Adderly with producer Orrin Keepnews, who had been at the helm of some of Cannonball's greatest soul jazz hits. That wasn't the only reunion involved. While one of the LPs featured Cannonball's current lineup - brother Nat on cornet, keyboardist Mike Wolff, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Roy McCurdy - the other one featured some names from Cannonball bands of the past, including George Duke, Sam Jones, Louis Hayes and Airto Moreira. Each lineup revisited some of the classic songs in the Adderly catalog, including "Work Song," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Jive Samba" and "This Here."

Cannonball Adderly was only 46 years old at the time, and there was no reason to believe that there wouldn't be plenty of time for reunions and retrospectives in the future. That he happened to record this album at the time he did is an accident of history, but a happy accident for the legions of fans he left behind. This is one of the more important and more welcome reissues of the year.

Track List: Hi-Fly * Work Song * Sack O' Woe * Jive Samba * This Here * The Sidewalks Of New York * Hamba Nami * Domination * 74 Miles Away * Country Preacher * Stars Fell On Alabama * Walk Tall/Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

(C) 1998 - Shaun Dale