Search - Nat Adderley :: Naturally! (Mlps)

Nat Plays "Naturally!"

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 05/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cornetist Nat Adderley's "Naturally!" was a natural choice to finally get reissued by the folks at OJC. (It's nice to see there are still some gems in the vaults.) A delightful disc, it is actually two different sessions. The first four tracks are from 6/20/61 and feature the rhythm trio that was associated at this time with his brother Cannonball -- Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Tracks 5-8 were recorded a month later on 7/19/61 and feature the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. While these two great trios more than amply back Nat, the album lacks a certain cohesion, particularly due to the contrasting styles of Zawinul and Kelly. This concept of a split LP might have worked fine for vinyl, where you literally had to flip over the record to hear the other band, but it loses something on CD. It is still a strong effort nonetheless, though jazz listeners new to Nat may want to start with "Work Song," or one of his outings with brother Cannonball."