Cannonball Takes Charge

Unquestionably, the best album under Cannonball\’s name. The quintet/sextet albums are mostly geared to a more pop market and contain much “packaged” soul and funk, while the dates Cannonball shared with Miles, Bags, Bill Evans, Coltrane, and Gil Evans often find him deferring to or competing against musical temperaments not wholly sympathetic with his own. But with no other horn to share the solo space and a grooving accompanist like Wynton Kelley, Cannonball indeed “takes charge,” having his ebullient, inventive way with a varied program of show tunes (“If This Isn\’t Love),” soul tunes (“Barefoot Sunday Blues”), jazz standards (“I Remember You”) and sentimental old favorites (“Poor Butterfly”). And the photo of Cannonball on the front cover of this Riverside classic is as good as any I\’ve seen of this masterful musician. For the sake of jazz fans, saxophonists, and collectors everywhere, let\’s hope this one remains in circulation, digitally remastered or not (Cannonball\’s musical mastery is sufficient in itself).

Takes charge  CD