Somethin' Else is an album by American jazz saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, recorded on March 9, 1958 and released on Blue Note in August later that year—his only album for the label. Also on the session is trumpeter Miles Davis in one of his handful of recording dates for Blue Note. Adderley was a member of Davis' group at the time, and the album was recorded shortly after Davis' own landmark album Milestones.
| Somethin' Else | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1958[1] | |||
| Recorded | March 9, 1958 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio Hackensack, NJ | |||
| Genre | Jazz, hard bop, bebop | |||
| Length | 38:44 | |||
| Label | Blue Note BLP 1595 | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| Cannonball Adderley chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe album was recorded during Adderley's membership in the Miles Davis' First Great Quintet, and it also marks one of the few recordings Davis made as a sideman after 1955. Indeed, Davis plays several of the first solos, composed the bluesy title track and, according to the liner notes, chose most of the material.[2] "Autumn Leaves" would remain in the Davis book, and "Love for Sale" would be recorded by the Davis Sextet a little over two months later.[3] Miles, as quoted in the original liner notes, recounted, "All my inspiration today comes from Ahmad Jamal, the Chicago pianist. I got the idea for this treatment of 'Autumn Leaves' from him."
The twelve-bar blues "One for Daddy-O" was written by Adderley's brother Nat for Chicago radio DJ Holmes "Daddy-O" Daylie. At the end of that track, Davis can be heard addressing producer Alfred Lion, saying "is that what you wanted, Alfred?"
"Bangoon"
editIn the 1980s, the album was re-issued with a bonus track from the recording session that was listed as "Alison's Uncle" and credited to Cannonball Adderley. The track appeared as "Alison's Uncle" on compact disc releases in the U.S. and Japan in 1986, and it continued to appear under this title, or as "Bangoon (aka Alison's Uncle)", on reissues into the 21st century. The composition is actually Hank Jones' "Bangoon", and first appeared on Gigi Gryce's 1957 Jubilee Records album Jazz Lab, with Jones playing piano. (Gryce also recorded a second version of the tune with Jones on his Gigi Gryce album.) The title "Alison's Uncle" was created by Nat Adderley in the 1980s when he was asked by reissue producers to name a track that they could not identify. Nat Adderley's alternate title refers to the session having taken shortly after his daughter Alison had been born.[citation needed]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| Tom Hull | A−[8] |
| Jazzwise | [5] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [6] |
| DownBeat | [9] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected Somethin' Else as part of its suggested "Core Collection."[6]
Track listing
editOriginal release
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Autumn Leaves" | Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prévert | 10:55 |
| 2. | "Love for Sale" | Cole Porter | 7:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Somethin' Else" | Miles Davis | 8:15 |
| 2. | "One for Daddy-O" | Nat Adderley | 8:26 |
| 3. | "Dancing in the Dark" | Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz | 4:07 |
CD reissues
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Autumn Leaves" | Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prévert | 10:55 |
| 2. | "Love for Sale" | Cole Porter | 7:01 |
| 3. | "Somethin' Else" | Miles Davis | 8:15 |
| 4. | "One for Daddy-O" | Nat Adderley | 8:26 |
| 5. | "Dancing in the Dark" | Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Bangoon" (aka "Alison's Uncle") | Hank Jones | 5:05 |
| 7. | "Autumn Leaves" (Alternate Take; 2013 Blue Note SHM-CD Japan bonus track) | Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prévert | 9:33 |
Personnel
editMusicians
edit- Cannonball Adderley – alto saxophone
- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Hank Jones – piano
- Sam Jones – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
Technical personnel
edit- Alfred Lion – producer
- Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
- Reid Miles – design
- Frank Wolff – photography
- Leonard Feather – liner notes[10]
References
edit- ^ American Record Guide, September 1958
- ^ Somethin' Else, Blue Note 95329-2, liner notes.
- ^ Kind of Blue deluxe edition, Columbia 27105-2, liner notes.
- ^ Somethin' Else at AllMusic
- ^ "Cannonball Adderley – Somethin' Else ★★★★★". Jazzwise. August 26, 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. "Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 9. ISBN 0-14-102327-9.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Jazz (1940–50s) (Reference)". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ Cerulli, Dom (27 November 1958). "Review of Somethin' Else" (PDF). DownBeat. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ Havers, Richard (March 9, 2021). "'Somethin' Else': Cannonball Adderley And Miles Davis' Musical Discourse". Retrieved July 14, 2021.