Our Summer of Soul theme is a celebration of John Capouya’s new book, Florida Soul, which chronicles the history of soul pioneers from the Sunshine State. One name that shows up a lot in John’s book is Cannonball Adderley. Perhaps the greatest jazz player – along with his brother Nat – to come out of Florida, Adderley brought a soul sensibility to such hits as Work Song and Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.
I had been hoping to get another great sax player, Jack Wilkins, to our Side Door stage, so this Soulful summer was the perfect opportunity. He and Palladium favorite Whitney James had done a show for Tampa Jazz Club built around an album Cannonball recorded in 1961 with an emerging singer named Nancy Wilson. The album’s utilitarian title: Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley.
Jack and Whitney
That show comes to the Palladium Side Door this Thursday night at 7:30, with a band of all-stars including James Suggs, playing the Nat Adderley parts, LaRue Nickelson on guitar, Patrick Bettison on bass and Walt Hubbard on drums. I can’t think of a better lineup for this show – I’m a big fan of all those players and so is our Palladium jazz audience. And I was excited to hear that Whitney will not only be singing, but scatting with the band on some selections.
For tickets and information for this Aug. 16 show, call our box office at 727-822-3590 or follow this link for on-line tickets and info.
Jack, who spends his days as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of South Florida, talked with me about the show.
Cannonball Adderley
Cannonball was already a star when they recorded this album, he told me.
“He came up from Florida and was an instant sensation when he hit New York.”
Nancy Wilson was an established singer but she wasn’t known as a jazz singer until this album was released.
“(The album’s) kind of listed as “Introducing Nancy Wilson,’ ” Jack said. “This was just one of those classic recordings and Nancy’s career sort of took off on the jazz side after that.”
Nancy Wilson
The AllMusic review of the album by David Nathan concluded: “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.”[4]
Jack said the show would include a lot of tunes from that album along with some other tunes associated with Cannonball and Nat Adderley.
I was lucky enough to spend some time with Nat in the late ’80s and early ’90s when he was living in Lakeland and doing some appearances in the area. I interviewed him at a lunch spot near downtown Tampa and remember when he went for his wallet, it wasn’t in his pocket, but strapped to his ankle – all those years of playing nightclubs had taught him to protect his cash. Nat was a wonderful storyteller and had managed to keep a top-level career after the untimely death of his brother in 1975.
And Jack Wilkins confirmed what I thought, that Cannonball and Nat brought their southern soul background into the jazz world.
Nat Adderley
“They were known for using gospel and rhythm and blues in jazz,” he said.
My buddy, Mike Cornette, Jazz Director of WUSF Radio, will be on hand to introduce the show. I’ll be in the audience. Hope to see you there.
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