Hot on the heels of session work with
Miles Davis
and his
Kind of Blue
-era group, alto saxophonist
Cannonball Adderley
recorded this excellent live date with his brother, cornetist
Nat Adderley
, along with pianist
Bobby Timmons
, bassist
Sam Jones
, and drummer
Louis Hayes
.
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco
defined the accessible, yet technically challenging, soul-jazz that
Adderley
would be associated with for the rest of his career. The warm, exuberant feel of the quintet is especially evident on the set's two finest tracks -- a spirited take on
Randy Weston
's "Hi-Fly," and on
Timmons
' swinging "This Here." Two of
's own compositions, "Spontaneous Combustion" and "You Got It!," blend blazing post-bop dexterity with pulsing, infectious blues structures. Both
Cannonball
and
play with stunning, bluesy brilliance here, while the rhythm section ably anchors the proceedings. Outside of
Somethin' Else
,
's 1958 masterpiece,
In San Francisco
may be the saxophonist's defining moment. ~ Anthony Tognazzini