Adderley/Davis collaboration, ‘Somethin’ Else,’ is just that

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 27, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.

Artist: Cannonball Adderley.

Title: "Somethin' Else."

Year of release: 1958 (Blue Note).

Tracklisting: "Autumn Leaves," "Love for Sale," "Somethin' Else," "One for Daddy-O," "Dancing in the Dark," "Bangoon" (bonus track).

Though he recorded more than 50 sessions as a band leader, alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley is still best known for his two-year stint as a member of the Miles Davis Sextet.

From 1957 through 1959, Adderley played alongside Davis, John Coltrane and other jazz luminaries on tour and on such classic Davis recordings as "Kind of Blue" and "Milestones."

Adderley and trumpeter Davis also collaborated on this divine March 9, 1958, Blue Note session, under Cannonball's direction.

The date, which also featured pianist Hank Jones, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Art Blakey, would be one of Davis' last as a sideman. That fact alone makes it an interesting listen, and the music won't leave you wanting either.

Though Adderley is running the show, Davis is clearly its brightest star. He announces his presence with an understated solo early in "Autumn Leaves" and remains central to the album's overall success throughout.

Davis also contributes the disc's most intriguing selection, its title track. From Sam Jones' powerful walking bassline to the rounds of improvisation traded between Davis and Adderley, the song sounds as if it came straight from the smoky jazz clubs of the 1950s.

Cannonball, considered a hard bopper in the Charlie Parker mode, adapts his style to best complement his fellow musicians, adopting a more mellow, "cool" attitude for the session. His solo in Cole Porter's "Love for Sale," for example, is bouncy and fast-moving, yet never overshadows the rhythm section playing behind him.

"Somethin' Else" also presents evidence of Hank Jones' underappreciated talents. Older brother to longtime Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones, Hank Jones has played with everyone from Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald to George Benson in a career that continues today.

If you're buying the CD new, be sure to pick up 1999's reissue, part of the label's "Rudy Van Gelder" remastered series. The sound is improved, and the packaging and liner notes are far more streamlined.

But don't be afraid to grab the original 1986 CD if you find it in a cheap used bin. Unlike most discs from the '80s, Blue Note's early CD releases all sound fairly crisp.

Whichever version you end up with, don't worry about missing any of the music. Track 6 is the same on both; its name has simply been changed from "Alison's Uncle" to "Bangoon."02