Top Picks
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
At the Lighthouse, Capitol. Nat Adderley, cornet; Victor Feldman, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Cannonball Adderley Quintet and the Pollwinners, Capitol. Wes Montgomery, guitar; Victor Feldman, vibes, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco, OJC/Riverside. Nat Adderley, cornet; Bobby Timmons, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Cannonball and Coltrane, EmArcy. John Coltrane, tenor sax; Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums
Cannonball’s Sharpshooters, EmArcy. Standout date from Complete Recordings 2-CD set on Lone Hill Jazz. Nat Adderley, cornet; Junior Mance, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums
Complete Recordings, Lone Hill Jazz. Nat Adderley, cornet; Junior Mance, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums. 2-CD set covers EmArcy label period 1956-58
Portrait of Cannonball, OJC/Riverside. Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Bill Evans, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums
Somethin’ Else, Blue Note. Miles Davis, trumpet; Hank Jones, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Cannonball Adderley Quintet/Sextet: The Quintet Plus, OJC/Riverside. Nat Adderley, cornet; Victor Feldman, piano, vibes; Wynton Kelly, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Miles Davis Sextet
Milestones, Columbia/Legacy. John Coltrane, tenor sax; Red Garland, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums
’58 Sessions Featuring Stella By Starlight, Columbia/Legacy. John Coltrane, tenor sax; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums
Kind of Blue, Columbia/Legacy. John Coltrane, tenor sax; Bill Evans or Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums
At Newport, Columbia/Legacy. John Coltrane, tenor sax; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums
Superior
Cannonball Adderley Quartet: Know What I Mean, OJC/Riverside. Bill Evans, piano; Percy Heath, bass
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Spontaneous Combustion, Savoy. Nat Adderley, cornet; Hank Jones, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums
Things Are Getting Better, OJC/Riverside. Milt Jackson, vibes; Wynton Kelly, piano; Percy Heath, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Them Dirty Blues, Capitol. Nat Adderley, cornet; Bobby Timmons or Barry Harris, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Paris 1960, OJC/Pablo. Nat Adderley, cornet; Victor Feldman, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Paul Chambers Quartet/Quintet: Go, Vee-Jay. Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Wynton Kelly, piano; Jimmy Cobb, drums
Excellent
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
What Is This Thing Called Soul?, OJC/Pablo. Nat Adderley, cornet; Victor Feldman, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!, Capitol. Nat Adderley, cornet; Joe Zawinul, piano; Victor Gaskin, bass; Roy McCurdy, drums
Cannonball Adderley Sextet on all of the following recordings with Nat Adderley, cornet; Yusef Lateef, tenor sax, flute, oboe; Joe Zawinul, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums:
Cannonball in Europe, Landmark
Dizzy’s Business, Milestone
In New York, OJC/Riverside
Japanese Concerts, Milestone
Jazz Workshop Revisited, Landmark
Lugano 1963, TCB
The Sextet, Milestone
Note: All of these sextet recordings can be rated in the “Superior” category, depending on whether the listener thinks Yusef Lateef disrupts the chemistry of the established quintet. The group obviously felt comfortable with him, but there remains the question of compatibility.
Kenny Clarke: Bohemia After Dark, Savoy. Nat Adderley, cornet; Donald Byrd, trumpet; Jerome Richardson, tenor sax; Horace Silver, piano; Paul Chambers, bass