Jazz Articles about Nat Adderley

Nat Adderley: A Player's Player

by Joan Gannij
August 29, 2014

This interview was originally conducted in 1997. I met Nat Adderley in jny: San Diego, California in 1986 when I was working as a disc jockey at a jazz radio station and doing the PR for La Jolla Playhouse. We did an interview about a new production of a musical being revived at the progressive La Jolla Playhouse and premiered on Broadway later that year. “Shout Up a Morning," based on the folk hero John Henry, began as ...

Nat Adderley: Naturally

by Derek Taylor
March 20, 2003

Fraternal partnerships are a frequent source of creative jazz inspiration. Reference the accomplishments of Montgomery brothers (Wes, Monk and Buddy) or those of the Jones clan (Elvin, Thad and Hank) for easy examples. And then there's Wynton, Branford, Delfayo and Jason, lest we leave out the Marsalises. Family ties have a way of forging lasting musical artistry, but the hobgoblin of rivalry can also enter into the equation when one sibling's star outshines those of the others.

Nat ...

Benny Golson Quintet: That's Funky

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

Looking back past the rule of Parliament to the age of Horace Silver, Benny Golson’s That's Funky pays tribute to Louis Armstrong through two renditions of his popular favorite “Mack the Knife." While the opening “funky version" starts off a bit sluggish and includes some pinched soloing by Nat Adderley, Monty Alexander’s firm comps make it swing and Golson’s smooth lines give it at least three pennies worth of class. On the “modern bebop version," Adderley’s lines are much more ...

Nat Adderley: Introducing Nat Adderley

by David Rickert
May 1, 2001

The Adderley brothers were key players in the birth of hard bop, a style which grew out of the advancements of Bud Powell and other pioneers who formed a sound that many artists took to the bank for years. At this point in time Cannonball had formed his first quintet with Nat as a sideman; facing indifferent recognition, Cannonball went on to join Miles Davis and met with far greater acclaim. The two would later reunite in the second Cannonball ...

Nat Adderley: Introducing Nat Adderley

by David Rickert
March 1, 2001

The Adderley brothers were key players in the birth of hard bop, a style which grew out of the advancements of Bud Powell and other pioneers who formed a sound that many artists took to the bank for years. At this point in time Cannonball had formed his first quintet with Nat as a sideman; facing indifferent recognition, Cannonball went on to join Miles Davis and met with far greater acclaim. The two would later reunite in the second Cannonball ...

Benny Golson Funky Quintet: That​’​s Funky

by C. Michael Bailey
April 1, 2000

Part 1: Way Back When. I had a colleague that always insisted that the Creedence Clearwater Revival’s recording Green River sounded better on vinyl than remastered for compact disc. I compared the two and I found this to be true, but probably not for any sonic reasons. Analog recordings are almost always warmer and rounder than their digital counterparts. There is something about that slightly “muddy” sound (and if you are wondering what I mean by that, listen to the ...

Nat Adderley: A Little New York Midtown Music

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 1999

Coming at the end of the ‘Seventies, this was a bit of a reunion. Nat and Johnny Griffin had played together on White Gardenia, Johnny’s salute to Billie Holiday. The others had played in various editions of the Cannonball band. (Victor Feldman and Ron Carter in the early ‘Sixties, Roy McCurdy later.) While the tone is light (the electric keys have a lot to do with it), the solos are heavy as the old friends make the most of this ...