Walk tall: the music and life of julian cannonball adderley, paperback/cary ginell

(Book).

Cannonball Adderley introduces his 1967 recording of Walk Tall, by saying, There are times when things dont lay the way theyre supposed to lay.

But regardless, youre supposed to hold your head up high and walk tall.

This sums up the life of Julian Cannonball Adderley, a man who used a gargantuan technique on the alto saxophone, pride in heritage, devotion to educating youngsters, and insatiable musical curiosity to bridge gaps between jazz and popular music in the 1960s and 70s.

His career began in 1955 with a Cinderella-like cameo in a New York nightclub, resulting in the jazz worlds looking to him as the New Bird, the successor to the late Charlie Parker.

But Adderley refused to be typecast.

His work with Miles Davis on the landmark Kind of Blue album helped further his reputation as a unique stylist, but Adderleys greatest fame came with his own quintets breakthrough engagement at San Franciscos Jazz Workshop in 1959, which launched the popularization of soul jazz in the 1960s.

With his loyal brother Nat by his side, along with stellar sidemen, such as keyboardist Joe Zawinul, Adderley used an engaging, erudite personality as only Duke Ellington had done before him.

All this and more are captured in this engaging read by author Cary Ginell.

Hipness is not a state of mind, it is a fact of life.

Cannonball Adderley.