Cannonball Adderley – Cannonball’s Sharpshooters [180g Vinyl]

Description

Cannonball Adderley leads Cannonball’s Sharpshooters as a compact hard-bop quintet date, placing his alto saxophone beside Nat Adderley’s cornet, Junior Mance’s piano, Sam Jones’ bass, and Jimmy Cobb’s drums. Recorded at Bell Sound in New York, the session balances bebop writing, blues phrasing, and standards in a seven-track program. This Verve Vault Series 180g vinyl record is mastered from analog tapes and pressed at Optimal in Germany.

“Our Delight” opens with Tadd Dameron’s bop language, giving the quintet a brisk theme and solo space before the ballad placement of “What’s New?” slows the first side. “Fuller Bop Man” brings Gil Fuller’s writing into a shorter, sharper form, while Adderley’s “Jubilation” adds his own composition to the set. Side two includes Dameron’s “Stay On It,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard “If I Love Again,” and Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” as the longest performance and the LP’s closing workout.

Placed beside Adderley’s work on Somethin’ Else, this quintet date is useful for hearing his own group apart from the Miles Davis setting. Nat Adderley’s cornet gives the front line a different attack from trumpet-led hard bop, while Mance, Jones, and Cobb keep the rhythm section responsive throughout the album. The result is a focused small-group session built around blues feeling, bop language, and Adderley’s alto lead.

• Format: Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: “Our Delight,” “What’s New?,” “Jubilation,” “Straight, No Chaser”
• Pressing details: Verve Vault Series, 180g vinyl, mastered from analog tapes, pressed at Optimal
• Genre/style: Hard Bop, Bebop, Jazz
• UPC: 199957010245

For jazz listeners following Cannonball Adderley’s late-1950s run, Cannonball’s Sharpshooters connects his small-group writing to the sound he would carry into more widely known sessions. “Our Delight” and “Straight, No Chaser” give the LP two clear entry points.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Our Delight
2. What’s New
3. Fuller Bop Man
4. Jubilation

Side B:

1. Stay On It
2. If I Love Again
3. Straight, No Chaser