Portrait Of Cannonball

This is one the finest recordings by one of the greatest alto saxophonists. Cut in 1958, when Adderley was in Miles Davis' sextet, Portrait also features pianist Bill Evans, drummer Philly Joe Jones (also with Miles then), rock-solid bassist Sam Jones and trumpeter Blue Mitchell. Although Adderley is known for his down-home albums, this isn't one of them — compositions include Davis' modal "Nardis" and Gigi Gryce's infectious "Minority," the standard "People Will Say We're in Love," and "Straight Life," a pretty Cannonball tune. Adderley was in tremendous form; his vocabulary had recently been enriched by John Coltrane's influence and, as usual, he was playing very winsomely. Mitchell stands out, too — very underrated, he independently created a Clifford Brown-like style at the same time Brown was creating his. Evans, who was starting to get very influential, plays with a bit more post-bop influence than usual, with lovely solos on both takes of "Nardis."