Adderley's next-to-last recording (cut just four months before he died of a stroke at age 46) was ironically a retrospective of his career. While his then-current group (with cornetist
Nat Adderley, keyboardist
Mike Wolff, bassist
Walter Booker, and drummer
Roy McCurdy) was featured on half of this two-LP set (highlighted by "Stars Fell on Alabama," "74 Miles Away," and a medley of "Walk Tall" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"), on the remainder of this two-fer the
Adderleys welcome back several alumni (keyboardist
George Duke, bassist
Sam Jones, and drummer
Louis Hayes) for new versions of "High Fly," "Work Song," "Sack O'Woe," "Jive Samba," "This Here," and "The Sidewalks of New York." A recommended set with plenty of excellent music, it serves as a fine overview of
Cannonball Adderley's career. ~ Scott Yanow