Norman Granz was on hand to record music from Cannonball Adderley's first European tour in 1960, but he and the Adderley estate have been parsimonious in dealing out the goods. It took 24 years for Part One,
What Is This Thing Called Soul to emerge, and another 13 years passed before this follow-up album came out. But better late than never, as they say, and the reward is hearing Cannonball's alto in full ecstatic flight, lots of fighting work from brother
Nat on cornet and the prized rhythm section of
Victor Feldman (piano),
Sam Jones (bass) and
Louis Hayes (drums) in a state of complete rapport. Only "The Chant" is duplicated from the earlier album, and Cannonball's solo is a model of
Parker-derived hard bop laced with his own highly rhythmic personality. Other than an overlong drum solo on "Bohemia After Dark," this is a most enjoyable slice of what, alas, is now history. ~ Richard S. Ginell