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Album Reviews

The cool jazz that Miles Davis was forging around the same time gets more critical ink, but when a layman thinks about Jazz with a capital "J," the music that comes to mind probably sounds a lot like this 1960 club date from the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Throughout the set (which now includes a previously unreleased bonus track, the aptly titled "Our Delight"), the group shows off its chief assets: meaty rhythms and lively soloing with roots in both bebop and gospel. For the first time, it could also boast the presence of pianist-composer Victor Feldman. In addition to his tuneful-yet-conversational solos, Feldman contributes two of his own songs, the breezy "Azule Serape" (in his introduction, Adderley claims not to understand the title) and the antic "Exodus." The band handles both delicate numbers ("We think this one is kind of cute," Adderley says of "Blue Daniel") and more propulsive material (the boss' own classic, "Sack O' Woe") with equal parts vivacity and poise. Somethin' Else aside, the true brilliance of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet was best captured live in front of a small, appreciative audience. At the Lighthouse is an excellent document of soul-jazz at both its jazziest and most soulful. ~ Daniel Browne, All Music Guide