This excellent live date from the Village Vanguard was the recording debut of the Adderley sextet, with
Cannonball waxing eloquently and swingingly on alto, brother Nat charging ahead on cornet, and the versatile Yusef Lateef (who had joined the band only three weeks earlier) adding a bit of an edge on tenor, flute, and unusually for a jazz wind player, oboe on the odd, dirge-like "Syn-Anthesia." Also, this was the first recorded appearance of pianist
Joe Zawinul -- a little over three years since his arrival in America -- in
Cannonball's band. This group would be
Zawinul's springboard to prominence in the jazz world, and readily apparent is how his compulsively funky mastery of bop and the blues had fused tightly with the
Sam Jones/
Louis Hayes rhythm section. Included is one of the earliest recordings of a
Zawinul composition, "Scotch and Water," a happy, swinging blues. ~ Richard S. Ginell