Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was such an uplifting force of nature. As a composer and bandleader he had a distinctive voice, but wow, as a saxophonist he was (to quote the title of one of his best-loved albums) somethin’ else. The way he combined gutbucket blues and the technical and theoretical mastery of Charlie Parker is unique and ubiquitous. Unique because nobody phrased quite like that before and ubiquitous given how widespread his approach subsequently became as generations of Cannon-heads took inspiration (and licks) from his records.

There are only a handful of other musicians who I perceive to exude joy this palpably, and it’s striking how many of them collaborated with Cannonball, such as Clark Terry, Wynton Kelly, Milt Jackson, and Cannon’s brother Nat – we are indeed all blessed that the frontline of Nat on cornet and Cannonball on alto is so well-documented. I also (for obvious reasons) am fascinated by his documented relationships with great pianists, and there were a lot of these I grudgingly omitted from this list (Hank Jones, Bill Evans, Junior Mance, Barry Harris, Ellis Marsalis, and Hal Galper.

Here are some personal favorites (all featuring his saxophone prominently) of mine, presented in chronological order:

1 ) “With Apologies to Oscar” from Bohemia After Dark by Kenny Clarke (1955)

This piece, using the chords from “Sweet Georgia Brown” and co-composed by Cannonball and Nat, makes a cheeky reference to Oscar Pettiford, the influential bassist who is credited with “discovering” the brothers not long before this recording session by drummer Kenny Clarke. This is the first recording session for both of them and they are both featured on this

2 ) “Sounds for Sid” from Things Are Getting Better by Cannonball Adderley and Milt Jackson (1958)

Of the numerous slow blues performances in Cannon’s discography, this is my personal favorite, both due to the soul that drips from his saxophone and thanks to the contributions of the aforementioned Milt Jackson on vibes and Wynton Kelly on piano.

3 ) “Limehouse Blues” from In Chicago (1959)

And then there’s the burning up-tempo work. It may be heresy that Miles Davis is not represented on this list (trust me, I love Kind of Blue, Milestones, ’58 Sessions, and Somethin’ Else as much as the next guy) but that era and that band are represented on this underappreciated album with the rest of Mile’s band at the time: Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and John Coltrane, who goes toe to toe with Cannon on this fierce cutting contest. I’m going to say it was a draw, but wow does Cannon sound effortless on this burning performance.

4 ) “Dat Dere” from Them Dirty Blues (1960)

The story of pianist/composer Bobby Timmons intersects meaningfully with Cannonball’s quintet (with Louis Hayes and Sam Jones on drums and bass) more than once, with the former’s “This Here” another classic from the group’s songbook. The greasy swing of this classic Timmons tune is matched only by the swagger of Cannon’s phrasing.

5 ) “Syn-Asthesia” from In New York (1962)

This is where we start to hear the breadth of Cannon’s musical range in a way that defies the also-true but simplistic “blues and bop” depiction of his oeuvre. The expansion to a sextet with the addition of seeker and multi-reed virtuoso Yusef Lateef (along with Joe Zawinul taking over the piano chair) brought in some moody colors to the palette, such as those on this slow and pensive Lateef composition featuring his oboe alongside Cannonball and Nat’s lyrical statements.

6 ) “Easy to Love” from Nippon Soul (1963)

Back to burning! This Cole Porter tune is most often interpreted as a ballad but Cannon takes it all the way upstairs, with his eighth-note phrases running with a seeming effortlessness that belies the reality that Louis Hayes must have needed a massage by the end of the tune.

7 ) “Little Boy With the Sad Eyes” from Fiddler on the Roof (1964)

The subsequent iteration of the sextet, with a young Charles Lloyd taking over the tenor/flute chair, is not as well documented but is nonetheless important and powerful. A few original tunes are tacked on to the end of this album, and Cannonball’s contribution with the pen is so bouncy it nearly goes through the ceiling. I only wish it were longer, but at least we get a succinct and swinging alto saxophone solo sandwiched within his clever writing.

8 ) “Sticks” from Mercy Mercy Mercy (1966)

Joe Zawinul’s title track (with Cannon’s oratory) is iconic, indeed one of the biggest crossover successes of the era. But this whole live album is just bonkers, and this funky and propulsive Cannonball composition is a great example of that, featuring some particularly fiery saxophone.  

9 ) “Hamba Nami” from Accent On Africa (1968)

This album could be seen as representing a significant departure, eschewing his typical format (and periodic orchestral or big-band explorations) for a heavily-arranged rendering of some of his funky originals along with an expansion into soprano saxophone and, as heard on this nasty tune, the Varitone (electric saxophone).

10 ) “The Steam Drill” from The Black Messiah (1971)

We wrap up with another stereotype-defying performance in the sense that his latter-years electric work is often characterized as being correspondingly more commercial than his straight-ahead work, yet this is quite the contrary. On this Cannonball original, he (heard here on soprano), Nat, and keyboardist (and soon-to-be jazz fusion star) George Duke get into some of the gnarliest music in Cannon’s discography.