Cannonball Adderley solo on Hippodelphia
This is one of my favorite songs of Cannonball and one of my favorite solos! This whole album is fuego truthfully. There are very alto players I like to hear more than Cannonball live!! Cannonball doesn’t get enough credit for influencing a lot of saxophonists’ sound. He’s a g.o.a.t!
I”ve recently started a weekly series called Transcription Tuesdays and it is aimed to uphold tradition in this coming musical age of anything goes. Now don’t get me wrong I think it’s important make the music that you want to make BUT I think it’s at least important to be informed as much as possible about the history of the music you”re making. For that reason, I always strive to transcribe daily whether it is something as short as a lick or as long as a full album. This keeps my ears sharp, allows me to get more grounded in the music and also allow me to grow musically.
A little background on me and my start at transcribing!
I got my first private saxophone teacher pretty late in the game. I was 15 years old and my teachers Morgan Russell and Paul Carr always stressed the importance of studying the Omnibook (a collection of Charlie Parker solos written out) as well as the importance of listening/copying artists that I liked. This was always a major component of my lessons. Paul Carr would assign me a Cannonball Adderley solo (like “Minority”) to have written out and memorized for next week. This type of fast paced instruction pushed me to grow very quickly. In a couple years, I had gone fom a novice to playing in the All County, All State Bands and even national groups such The Grammy Band, Vail Jazz All Stars and YoungArts Fellows. I honestly believe this rapid development came not from mere running scales and arpeggios but from learning hundreds of solos and listening non-stop. I learned thousands of solos by ear during that time. I would sing them, play along with them on piano, and of course learn them on saxophone. When learning any language you have to emulate those that do it well and Jazz is no different. So to anyone reading this wondering how do I get better? Or feeling like they”ve hit a plateau. Trust me, there’s more to do and more to learn. Keep transcribing! There’s always someone better than you out there’s transcribe them! LOL
For the average listener, the Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto Bossa Nova album is the greatest Bossa album ever! However, if anyone has ever heard this Cannonball Adderley and the Bossa Rio Sextet (Featuring Sergio Mendes) album, they would know that this album should be THE quintessential Bossa album!! I stand by that!! LOL No, music isn’t a competition but I just love Cannonball. Anyways, hope you enjoy his solo on “Minha Saudade.”
Between Grover Washington Jr. and Cannonball Adderley I’m not sure who is a bigger influence on my playing. To me, they both have a very soulful and personal approach to how they play. The best quality of their playing is how they both really know how to make a melody sing! This is a quality I’ve always wanted in my playing. I first heard Cannonball Adderley on a soul record he made that was called “Mercy Mercy Mercy.” Some of the cuts off this album are “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” “Hippodelphia,” “Fun, “Games,” and “Sticks” (my favorite). I believe I first heard “Sticks” and it really stuck with me how much feeling he was playing with and the edgy sound he was getting out of the alto! The beautiful thing about Cannonball is his control and his ability to make the alto sound so different depending on the occasion but still always sounding like himself. I wanted that type of control and still strive for that everytime I pick up my horn. I still transcribe Cannonball solos because there is so much you can learn from him. I’m currently working on his solos from this album with John Coltrane.