Īdderley was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity (Gamma Theta chapter, University of North Texas, '60, & Xi Omega chapter, Frostburg State University, '70) and Alpha Phi Alpha (Beta Nu chapter, Florida A&M University). Pepper Adams and George Mraz dedicated the composition "Julian" on the 1975 Pepper Adams album of the same name days after Cannonball's death. Joe Zawinul's composition "Cannon Ball" on Weather Report's Black Market album is a tribute to his former leader. Later in 1975, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, Tallahassee. He was survived by his wife Olga James Adderley, parents Julian C. Mary Mercy Medical Center in Gary, Indiana. In July, 1975 Adderley suffered a stroke from a cerebral hemorrhage and died four weeks later, on August 8, 1975, at St. His instrumental "Sack o' Woe" was arranged by Herbie Mann on their debut album. A cover version of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)?" also entered the charts. Songs made famous by Adderley and his bands include "This Here" (written by Bobby Timmons), "The Jive Samba", "Work Song" (written by Nat Adderley), " Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (written by Joe Zawinul) and "Walk Tall" (written by Zawinul, Marrow, and Rein).
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY THEM DIRTY BLUES SERIES
In 1975 he also appeared in an acting role alongside José Feliciano and David Carradine in the episode "Battle Hymn" in the third season of the TV series Kung Fu. In that same year, his quintet appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and a brief scene of that performance was featured in the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me, starring Clint Eastwood.
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY THEM DIRTY BLUES FREE
In this period, he released albums such as Accent on Africa (1968) and The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970). Nat and Cannonball Adderley in Amsterdam, 1961īy the end of the 1960s, Adderley's playing began to reflect the influence of electric jazz. The new quintet, which later became the Cannonball Adderley Sextet, and Cannonball's other combos and groups, included such noted musicians as saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Yusef Lateef, pianists Bobby Timmons, Barry Harris, Victor Feldman, Joe Zawinul, Hal Galper, Michael Wolff, and George Duke, bassists Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Walter Booker, and Victor Gaskin, and drummers Louis Hayes and Roy McCurdy. Cannonball's first quintet was not very successful however, after leaving Davis' group, he formed another group again with his brother. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured Cannonball on alto sax and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. In 1962, Cannonball married actress Olga James. In 1961, Cannonball narrated The Child's Introduction to Jazz, released on Riverside Records. His interest as an educator carried over to his recordings. This period also overlapped with pianist Bill Evans' time with the sextet, an association that led to Evans appearing on Portrait of Cannonball and Know What I Mean?. Adderley then played on the seminal Davis records Milestones and Kind of Blue. Some of Davis's finest trumpet work can be found on Adderley's solo album Somethin' Else (also featuring Art Blakey and Hank Jones), which was recorded shortly after the two giants met. He joined the Davis band in October 1957, three months prior to the return of John Coltrane to the group. He was noticed by Miles Davis, and it was because of his blues-rooted alto saxophone that Davis asked him to play with his group. Īdderley formed his own group with his brother Nat after signing onto the Savoy jazz label in 1957. The "buzz" on the New York jazz scene after Adderley's performance announced him as the heir to the mantle of Charlie Parker. Cannonball was asked to sit in with Oscar Pettiford in place of his band's regular saxophonist, who was late for the gig. He left Florida originally to seek graduate studies at New York conservatories, but one night in 1955 he brought his saxophone with him to the Café Bohemia. One of his known addresses in New York was in the neighborhood of Corona, Queens. Ĭannonball left Southeast Florida and moved to New York in 1955. Adderley moved to Broward County, Florida, in 1948 after finishing his music studies at Florida A&M and became the band director at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, a position which he held until 1950. Both Cannonball and brother Nat played with Ray Charles when Charles lived in Tallahassee during the early 1940s. Ĭannonball moved to Tallahassee when his parents obtained teaching positions at Florida A&M University. Originally from Tampa, Florida, his nickname derived from "cannibal", a title imposed on him by high-school colleagues as a tribute to his voracious appetite.