Hot on the heels of session work with
Miles Davis and his
Kind of Blue-era group, alto saxophonist
Cannonball Adderley recorded this excellent live date with his brother, cornetist
Nat Adderley, along with pianist
Bobby Timmons, bassist
Sam Jones, and drummer
Louis Hayes.
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco defined the accessible, yet technically challenging, soul-jazz that Adderley would be associated with for the rest of his career. The warm, exuberant feel of the quintet is especially evident on the set's two finest tracks -- a spirited take on
Randy Weston's "Hi-Fly," and on
Timmons' swinging "This Here." Two of Adderley's own compositions, "Spontaneous Combustion" and "You Got It!," blend blazing post-bop dexterity with pulsing, infectious blues structures. Both
Cannonball and
Nat Adderley play with stunning, bluesy brilliance here, while the rhythm section ably anchors the proceedings. Outside of
Somethin' Else, Adderley's 1958 masterpiece,
In San Francisco may be the saxophonist's defining moment.