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By André Willis |
Jan 1, 2008
1928 -- 1975
African American alto saxophonist who explored bebop, modal jazz, and soul-fusion styles.
Born
Julian
Edwin
Adderley
in Tampa, Florida, Adderley earned the nickname “Cannonball,” a corruption of “cannibal,” for his huge appetite. Adderley was introduced to music by his father, a cornetist, and was performing in bands by the time he was fourteen. He played in local bands as well as in the United States Army (he enlisted in 1950) and taught music before moving to New York to join his brother Nat in 1955. He immediately found success on the New York Jazz scene, joining the bands of bassist Oscar
Pettiford.The recordings Adderley made with Davis, which included John
Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Paul
Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano, are some of the most celebrated of the 1950s. In 1959 Adderley and his brother Nat formed their own quintet and built on the influence of Davis and saxophonist Charlie
Parker. During its fifteen years, the quintet played soul jazz, fusion, and mainstream post-bop, earning critical and popular acclaim and a reputation for drawing heavily on Blues and Gospel. Some critics hailed Adderley as the “new Bird,” noting his style's debt to Parker. At times, Adderley doubled on soprano saxophone. An important innovator on his horn, Adderley also taught and lectured on jazz. Some of his finest performances appear on Something Else:Cannonball and Coltrane, Davis's Kind of Blue, and the popular Adderley quintet album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at “the Club” (1966).See also Bebop.
Copyright © 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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