Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Cannonball Adderley

There was a time in my card-carrying free-jazz crusader days when I'd have all but turned up my nose at Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Woulda been my loss. A few choruses into Fun (after a cleverly modulated Bird paraphrase) and Cannonball Adderley is screaming with the rawness of Trane, Shepp or Pharoah. Before going over the top and launching into the realm of Interstellar Space that Trane et al were approaching at this time, Cannonball hands it off to brother Nat, who follows with an energetic, albeit somewhat less inspiring solo. Somewhat unfortunately, as with much of this album, Zawinal follows with what is a comparatively lackluster solo.

Games picks up the pace again, with Cannonball's solo heating up to a nice boil over a rhythm section that builds up to a funky back beat and alternatively backs down to more of a percolating groove. Cannonball makes the most of this rise and fall, driving it with his solo. After this, Nat's solo - although a bit stronger than on Fun - comes off more as riding the fluctuations in the groove, more than pushing them. Zawinal too is sounding warmed up here, but still not up to par with Cannonball.

Joe's contribution of the title track overshadows any gripes one could have with his playing (he is up against a pretty heavy hitter in Cannonball, anyhow - I sure wouldn't want to follow a Cannonball< solo). His entrance on the electric piano - and the whole solo that follows - is classic: cliches and all, it's perfectly appropriate for the laid-back, funky vibe of the tune. His relatively understated solo keeps this flavor, with some nice energy building up without overdoing it, or over stretching it's bounds.


Sticks contains some of the raunchiest, baddest Cannonball playing on this record. From his deliberately stuttering ascending opening line, you can tell he's going to bring it on in his solo. Bring it he does with some wailing harmonics and searing Parker-esque runs - all in a masterfully constructed succinct solo that says all that needs to be said on the topic. Some serious funk ladled on some simmering gut-bucket laced with a dash of bop - something that pulls together flavors from Shepp to Maceo.

Hippodelphia seems somewhat incongruous in context with the rest of this album - it's more of the standard issue 60s "progressive hard bop" type date (or whatever you want to call it). Sack O' Woe returns more to the feel of the rest of the date, Cannonball< wailing over a back beat more like the earlier tracks. Nat's solo has a good dose of the kinda of bravura playing heard elsewhere on this record - and some enthusiastic hand-clapping from the well-lubricated crowd helps things cook along nicely during by Zawinal and bassist Victor Gaskin. Overall, though, this piece doesn't quite achieve liftoff as well as the first few numbers - it sounds like the set it drawing to a close, but I suppose that's on target with a studio recording designed to simulate a live date.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: Live at "The Club" (Capitol ST 2663)
"The Club", Chicago, IL
July, 1966

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

How many times have we been subjected to remake after unmemorable remake of the tunes on Kind of Blue? Most readings of these songs are largely forgettable, especially when held up alongside the originals - seems Miles and his subsequent groups were the only ones that consistently did these pieces justice. This said, it goes without saying that this album was, still is and will always be an indispensable cornerstone of any jazz collection - one of those records I'd venture to say "If you could only have one jazz CD, make sure it's..."

What really makes it hold up as a timeless classic is the all-around stellar playing of the group, no doubt in part inspired by Miles' selection of material: His "introduction" of modal harmonic structures in these pieces, and the fresh ideas the material elicited in the quintet's playing. The most oft-cited piece in this regard is the (in)famous So What, for obvious reasons. We all know this became a Trane standard as Impressions - and a blazing uptempo romp for the 60s Miles quintets - and was recycled as a number of other tunes by other groups. So What is one of the quintessential tunes in every aspiring jazz player's book (required reading for Jazz 101, that only gets more enigmatic and challenging for PhD's - hence the myriad half-assed versions of this song that have been recorded and played of the years).

Interestingly, it's always struck me that the other really "modal" piece on the record is largely overlooked and underplayed (though that may be a blessing in disguise). To me, Flamenco Sketches allows the group to stretch out even more and really immerse themselves in modal improvisations. The solos are a bit more raw and vulnerable - without as steady a pulse, momentum is generated more by the line of the soloist's melody that the rhythm section - there's a uncommonly delicate, fragile beauty to both Miles and Coltrane's solos. While so much 60s Trane has been traced back to So What, in Flamenco Sketches I hear early strains of that more elusive, haunting quality that reappears later in Expression and pieces like Wise One, Crescent, Meditations, etc.

Cannonball's playing on Flamenco is equally intriguing - imbued with a ecstatic yet poignant drive, it almost captures the joyous energy of his later Live at The Club classics, but in the more subdued context of this recording. Evans seems in his element here - if anyone's later work can be traced back to anything on Kind of Blue, the moods and colors Evans creates on Sketches seem most evocative of the shape of things to come...

Of course, I'm as guilty as the next guy with regards to having committed countless crimes in the name of So What - dunno how many times I've played it, but do know of only a few where I've even come close to really playing it. A recent listen to Kind of Blue rekindled my interest in Flamenco Sketches, and have been delightedly working on the tune ever since. Best part is: Flamenco feels fresh. Every time I play through it, the tune's full of new possibilities and surprises. Maybe that's more of how the group was hearing things back in '59. Whatever the case, the sextet's version still sounds fresh as ever - and I have renewed faith that these songs are far from played out. Avante-garde is more a state of mind, not a sound at a particular place in time...

Kind of Blue (Columbia CL 1355)
March 2 & April 6, 1959
Columbia 30th Street Studios, NYC