Cannonball Adderley's Black Messiah

[dougcrates]

Dusty Groove is reissuing Cannonball's Black Messiah on April 29th

http://www.dustygroove.com/item/691999

[jazzbo]

Good news! Way to go Bastids!

[king ubu]

Yes indeed, great album!

[felser]

glad to hear this!

[erwbol]

I have none of Cannonball's records except the one with Trane and the Davis rhythm section. I'll probably regret this sooner or later. The early sixties discs I previewed through the internet didn't do much for me at the time.

Would this be a good place to start correcting my neglect of Adderley's discography?

[jazzbo]

No, I don't think so. This is one to build up to.

Surely you have 'Something Else'? I think that 'Portrait of Cannonball' on Riverside is a great record and perhaps a good start. And depending on how you feel about Lateef, 'Nippon Soul' on Riverside might be another good entryway. I love both these albums.

[erwbol]

Oops, I forgot about Somethin' Else. I had the RVG and now have the hybrid SACD.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Edited February 11, 2014 by erwbol

[JSngry]

This album is so good, so damn good...and so imperfect, so damn imperfect.

My hunch is that it's going to be one of those things that doesn't change anybody's mind about anything, but will reinforce, with significantly greater certainty, whatever you already think.

[Clunky]

I have none of Cannonball's records except the one with Trane and the Davis rhythm section. I'll probably regret this sooner or later. The early sixties discs I previewed through the internet didn't do much for me at the time.

Would this be a good place to start correcting my neglect of Adderley's discography?

At the "Quintet in San Francisco" recorded at the Jazz Workshop (Riverside) was my starting point and still amongst my favourite.

[sonnymax]

[felser]

"Black Messiah" and those Riversides are apples and oranges. Glad for both, but they're totally different things.

[jfire]

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!

[marcello]

I have a soft spot for those recording, especially "The Country Preacher".

[Guy Berger]

I actually think the 1959 San Francisco recording is somewhat overrated, as is the "Know What I Mean" album with Bill Evans. My faves with Cannonball (besides Somethin' Else) are Cannonball in Europe, Fiddler on the Roof, and Money in the Pocket. My opinion is Cannonball's bands got better once Yusef Lateef joined - there was some grit added to all that sweetness.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Guy

[Late]

The early sixties discs I previewed through the internet didn't do much for me at the time.

I get where you're coming from. Even though it's a comp, you might try this one, especially if you can find it used:

I often find that I like Cannonball best when he's playing other people's compositions, or is in other people's bands. That said, this:

is one of my favorite (early) Cannonball leader dates. Some great solos therein.

[CJ Shearn]

Great news. I admit my collection is sadly Cannon deficient as a leader, I had always intended to grab "Things Are Getting Better" but never did, just hit interests in other things.

[sidewinder]

Also recommended as a lead-in...

Some of the 'Black Messiah' tracks are on this one

Edited April 2, 2014 by sidewinder

[Bluesnik]

is one of my favorite (early) Cannonball leader dates. Some great solos therein.

Yeah, that one is great.

It was reissued, at least in Europe, as a Mini-LP in the LPR series. It belongs, like Sharpshooters, to his early Emarcys. But my favorite, I think, is Quintet in Chicago with the Miles Davis band (himself included), sans Miles. And maybe also Somethin Else.

[jazzbo]

That was an LPR digipak in the US.

[colinmce]

For me, these two are the two. The Evans in particular is among my favorites of the era.

[jazzbo]

I love Cannon and I love Evans, but I've never really loved "Know What I Mean." But I'll keep trying.

Japan issued a handful of the Capitol albums in the early part of the decade but stopped before "Black Messiah." So I'm glad Dusty Groove has leased it.

[Guy Berger]

I love Cannon and I love Evans, but I've never really loved "Know What I Mean." But I'll keep trying.

I feel like either me or you said this in the past, but it would have been better with a different, less "controlled" bassist and drummer.

[jazzbo]

We may both have said it. I dig Percy and Connie, but I think another team would have allowed me to love the album more.

[Bluesnik]

That was an LPR digipak in the US.

The LPR series initially came out over here, in Europe, as Mini-LPs (with their own kind-of-OBIs), but after Universal's accountants found out how costly they were to make (they sold for around 12 € and were not as wildly priced as in Japan), the company switched to Digipaks. So later LPRs are Digipaks. LPR, which AFAIK stands for LP Reproduction. The Digipaks are nice still. They capture the cover very well. I have examples of both.

[jazzbo]

We had mini-lps here in the states at first as well. The Adderley was not among them.