An excellent collaboration of
Nancy Wilson's voice with
Cannonball Adderley's alto sax from the early '60s. While this 1961 recording was the first time
Wilson was with
Adderley in the studio, it was not the first time they had worked together. After singing with
Rusty Bryant's band,
Wilson had worked with
Adderley in Columbus, Ohio. (It was there that
Adderley encouraged her to go to N.Y.C. to do some recording, eventually leading to this session.) Not entirely a vocal album, five of the 12 cuts are instrumentals. A highlight is the gentle cornet playing of
Nat Adderley behind
Wilson, especially on "Save Your Love for Me" and "The Old Country."
Cannonball Adderley's swinging, boppish sax is heard to excellent effect throughout.
Joe Zawinul's work behind
Wilson on "The Masquerade Is Over" demonstrates that he is a talented, sensitive accompanist. On the instrumental side, "Teaneck" and "One Man's Dream" are especially good group blowing sessions. On the other end of the spectrum,
Adderley's alto offers a lovely slow tempo treatment of the
Vernon Duke-
Ira Gershwin masterpiece "I Can't Get Started." To keep the listeners on their musical toes, the first couple of bars of "Save Your Love for Me" are quotes from "So What" from
the Miles Davis Sextet's seminal Kind of Blue session. Given the play list and the outstanding artists performing it, why any serious jazz collection would be without this classic album is difficult to comprehend. ~ Dave Nathan