Still immersed in the burgeoning electronic jazz-rock explosion of the times,
Cannonball Adderley goes further toward a rapprochement with rock and soul audiences than ever before on this fascinating, overlooked double album. For starters, he recorded it live at West Hollywood's Troubadour club, then known as a showcase for folk and rock acts. He also imported additional players into his quintet, expanding into exotic percussion effects with
Airto Moreira (whom
Miles Davis had previously featured), hard rock guitar with sessionman
Mike Deasy, fiery tenor sax from the young
Ernie Watts, and occasional seasoning from conguero
Buck Clarke and clarinetist
Alvin Batiste. "Now I don't give a damn whether you can count or not, we still are
the Cannonball Adderley Quintet!," quoted the leader, who is in loose, loquacious form throughout the set (the jazz world badly misses his witty verbal intros). With
Joe Zawinul flying off to
Weather Report, his replacement is an even more electronically minded pianist,
George Duke, who levitates into the outer limits with his Echoplex and ring modulator and proves to be a solid comper. But
Zawinul is not forgotten, for the band pursues a long, probing, atmospheric excursion on his tune, "Dr. Honouris Causa."
Adderley generously gives
Deasy two contrasting feature numbers -- "Little Benny Hen," a raucous, amateurishly sung blues/rock piece and "Zanek," a great countrified tune with an avant-garde freakout at the climax -- and all of the other guests save
Clarke get single solo features. Brother
Nat Adderley gamely visits the outside on cornet,
Cannonball doubles with increasing adventurousness on soprano and alto as bassist
Walter Booker and drummer
Roy McCurdy deftly handle all of the stylisyic changes.
Cannonball adeptly keeps pace with
Miles Davis, his former boss -- the driving "The Chocolate Nuisance" could easily be a first cousin of "Pharoah's Dance" on
Bitches Brew -- while not abandoning his funky soul-jazz base nor the special audience-friendly ambience of his concerts. ~ Richard S. Ginell