As
Cannonball Adderley moved with the times in the late '60s, so did brother
Nat on his own. While
Adderley generally buys into
Creed Taylor's A&M mixture of top-flight jazz talent, pop tunes and originals, and orchestrations packaged in bite-sized tracks, this album has its own pleasingly veiled yet soulful sound quite apart from its neighbors in the A&M/CTI series. Give credit to
Adderley's successful use of a Varitone electronic attachment on his cornet, giving the horn an "electric blue" sound which he handles with marvelous rhythmic dexterity. Add
Joe Zawinul's lively, funky electric piano from
Cannonball's quintet, as well as the brooding, genuinely classically-inspired orchestrations of
Bill Fischer that only use violas, cellos and flutes. While not always technically perfect,
Adderley's solos have soul and substance; his brief, catchy bop licks on "Halftime" are some of the best he ever played and on
Zawinul's "Early Minor," he evokes a sense of loneliness that
Miles would have admired. A lovely, intensely musical album, well worth seeking out. ~ Richard S. Ginell