Believe It or not, once upon a time, jazz musicians actually had “pop” hit song and played music that was creative and accessible. You’ll have to trust me on this one. Elemental Music has recently uncovered a pair of concerts by the maestro alto saxist Cannonball Adderley. The gigs are only separated by a few years, and only a minor change in musicianship, but oh, what a change that made!
The 1969 team Has Cannonball with his brother Nat/ct and bopping rhythm team of Victor Gaskin/b with Roy McCurdy/dr along with future Miles Davis member and Weather Report co-creator Joe Zawinul/p-ep. The almost 90 minute show is a swinging blend of soulful gospel jazz, with Adderley in vintage form during not only his playing, but in introducing each song. McCurdy, the only one still alive from this event at 87, is crisper than snow peas as he drives home on the hip “The Scavenger” and sears on “Blue ‘N’ Boogie”. Zawinul is elegant on piano for an aria of “Come Sunday” and gets into some hep ideas on keyboard on the bluesy “Oh Babe” and “The Scene”. The Adderleys are a force of nature, with the songs, ranging from 3-13 minutes, a perfect blend of creative ideas and get down grooves, with most popular tunes like “Work Song” and “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” still sounding exciting and irresistible. A time capsule to take every day before bedtime.
Fast forward to 1972, and George Duke comes in, fresh from his stints with Frank Zappa and Jean-Luc Ponty. Is the difference in sound more due to Duke or to the times themselves? Hard call, but the change is palpable, with Duke predominantly on the keyboards throughout, and the band stretching out on a couple of tunes to 20 minutes. “Mercy” is presented as a token nod by this time, and even “Autumn Leaves” is an extroverted muscle flexing affair, while Duke and Cannonball boogaloo throughout “ Walk Tall” and get funky and far out on “Hummin’” . The brothers take part in the avalanche of blues drenching avalanches on “Black Messiah” with Duke getting intergalactic, and a wild jam of “Doctor Honoris Causa” propelled by McCurdy’s riveting charge. Fusion was in the air in the early 70s, and Cannonball was riding the wave, still dyed in the wool on bebop, but bringing it to a new audience raised on Zappa. Relevant and rollicking.