Somethin' Else

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
When alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley culled together this quartet, he grabbed three champions from seemingly disparate schools to complement his flinty solos: Miles Davis, the king of cool; Art Blakey, the thundering force of hard bop; Hank Jones, a veteran of swing; and Sam Jones, a versatile bassist adaptable to nearly any setting. The results are one of Blue Note's most beloved albums. The open-ended beauty of "Autumn Leaves," which features Davis beautifully stating the melody on muted trumpet, sounds like it could easily be an outtake from Kind of Blue (which it isn't). The midtempo title track provides the centerpiece of this classic as Adderley echoes Miles's swaggering melody before both unravel wonderful solos. A must-have Blue Note album. --John Murph

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-12-13 rating:
oh yeah...
this album swings like somethin' else, but I don't know what. Like other reviewers have said before me, there isn't anything fancy here; just four grown men playin' swinging, groovy, mellow jazz. For me, this is the jazz equivalent of when a movie buff says to themselves, "Tonight, I just want to watch a movie for Chrissake!" The longer you explore the sounds of jazz, up to the way it sounds - or doesn't - in our time, "Somethin' Else" grooves more mellow each time, like Kentucky bourbon. It's the poor man's "Kind of Blue." Check it out and don't forget your dancin' shoes.

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review by: waitingtoderail date: 2008-11-20 rating:
Wow
Well, this is everything jazz should be, in this novice listener's opinion. Subdued in the right places, swinging in others, the supergroup Adderley put together for this album is simply astounding. Miles Davis and Adderley take center stage, but Hank Jones has some quality moments, and Sam Jones and Art Blakey provide a steady, if subdued, backbeat. I'd like to hear Blakey a little louder in the mix, but that's a small quibble.

The album may be a bit too conservative for those with particularly experimental tastes, nothing truly innovative seems to be going on here, but everything is in its proper place and is a wonderful starting point for those interested in exploring a burgeoning jazz infatuation, like myself.

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review by: date: 2008-09-29 rating:
Brilliant
Pure Jazz. For a remastered album it is as brilliant as when first heard it in 1959, only more refined and as excellent as it always was, Miles Davis should share all the credits with Cannonball Adderley as without his input, this album would not be as good as it is. Hank, Art & Sam also have a large input, but Cannonball & Miles shine through in an excellent example of good Jazz.

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review by: date: 2008-08-16 rating:
Nice sideman appearance by Cannonball
Conventional wisdom holds that this is a Miles Davis album, and that is pretty much right - it's an album led by Miles Davis, under Cannonball Adderley's name, set up to showcase the altoist who had just joined Davis's band. You can hear plenty of fine playing by Cannonball, but it's in Davis's world - the earthiness of many later Cannonball recordings isn't present.

The similarities are particularly obvious on the classic interpretation of "Autumn Leaves" and the Davis original "Somethin' Else". "Love for Sale" was recorded under Davis's leadership 3 months later, with Cannonball present, and it's interesting to compare the two approaches. (I prefer the Davis version, but they are both superb.)

Some people go further and compare this album to Kind of Blue. Yes, there are some similarities, particularly in the mood, but the "cerebralness" of the later album is largely absent on Somethin' Else. Hank Jones and Art Blakey have a very different, more conservative feel than Bill Evans and Jimmy Cobb. And the funky "One for Daddy-O", a Nat original and the one tune that really screams "Cannonball Adderley album!", wouldn't really fit in on a Davis album, much less Kind of Blue.

Overall a great album, and essential for most jazz fans.


review by: paulocal date: 2008-06-03 rating:
This Album is Somethin' Else, period
If anyone ever wanted to know what Julian Cannonball Adderly is all about, go no further than track one of this album. He leaves it all on the table on Autumn Leaves. His solo there is so intense and emotion filled that it leaves you breathless.

Miles takes a back seat to Cannonball, but not because its Cannonball's gig, but because Cannonball's playing has no end to its emotional depth. It is a cliché to say it, but it is simply something else, period. And Hank Jones piano playing cannot be improved upon. It is exquisitely precise and the chords he drops makes the spine tingle. This is a good album, period.

Fifty stars

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