Walk Tall: The Music and Life of Julian Cannonball Adderley

by Cary Ginell

(Book). Cannonball Adderley introduces his 1967 recording of "Walk Tall," by saying, "There are times when things don't lay the way they're supposed to lay. But regardless, you're supposed to hold your head up high and walk tall." This sums up the life of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, a man who used a gargantuan technique on the alto saxophone, pride in heritage, devotion to educating youngsters, and insatiable musical curiosity to bridge gaps between jazz and popular music in the 1960s and '70s. His career began in 1955 with a Cinderella-like cameo in a New York nightclub, resulting in the jazz world's looking to him as "the New Bird," the successor to the late Charlie Parker. But Adderley refused to be typecast. His work with Miles Davis on the landmark Kind of Blue album helped further his reputation as a unique stylist, but Adderley's greatest fame came with his own quintet's breakthrough engagement at San Francisco's Jazz Workshop in 1959, which launched the popularization of soul jazz in the 1960s. With his loyal brother Nat by his side, along with stellar sidemen, such as keyboardist Joe Zawinul, Adderley used an engaging, erudite personality as only Duke Ellington had done before him. All this and more are captured in this engaging read by author Cary Ginell. "Hipness is not a state of mind, it is a fact of life." Cannonball Adderley

Genres: Jazz, Biography, Music

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial reaction: I think a part of why I loved this account of Cannonball Adderley's life was because of how well it portrayed the man's efforts and accomplishments as well as his personality. This is a rather excellent biography which gives interesting inside details - particularly in the form of interviews, personal narratives, among other inclusions - of Adderley's rise to fame as a Jazz musician and contributor. I was very happy to not only rediscover his music, but discover the man himself.

Full review:

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley was an extraordinarily talented man who went too soon. He contributed so much in terms of the Jazz community, to the people he knew, and to whatever he set his mind to doing, whether it was teaching, playing music or dedicating himself to speaking out for civil rights. I think the title's very appropriate, noting the common link of one of his works, because Adderley was the definition of someone who could "Walk Tall", and had the personality to match.

Jazz is one of my first loves in music. Having been acquainted with Adderley's work since I was introduced in a class at my undergraduate uni, I knew there was no way that I'd turn down the chance to read this book. Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" and even Adderley's own "Something Else" are two of my favorite Jazz albums. Saw this book as an ARC, leapt for the opportunity, and was over the moon when I got it. I didn't know what to expect from Cary Ginell's account, but having read the whole of it, I thought it was an excellent biography, complete with comments from Adderley himself, his family, loved ones, friends, collegues, and tons of information setting the tone of the time, Adderley's work, and contributions. I appreciated the foreword by Quincy Jones and the preface by Dan Morgenstern, both of whom remember Adderley in brief but potent pieces. For the most part, the biography is presented in chronological order, discusses the major turning points of Adderley's career and personal life, and provides enough backdrop and context to the time he lived. I even appreciated the insight on Adderley's associations and how they linked to other composers and Jazz musicians. I learned quite many things from this that I didn't know about his life and personality.

I think the biggest hurdle to get over when considering this biography is that you do have to know some of the major Jazz players before picking this up, at least on a base level. Otherwise it can be a sea of names and compositions in points that you may not always have the context. I think the narrative does a great job of establishing how the musicians were involved in Adderley's life, work, and space, however. For a resource for research, this is certainly go-to reading, because it does provide all you may need to know about Adderley's life and then some, with some factoids that are interesting that I didn't even consider (I had no idea that Adderley did a cameo with the Nutty Squirrels, which can be linked to Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.)

For what its worth, picking this up made me seek out more of Adderley's work to explore, and I think the narrative provides an apt timeline of each of the major pieces, their impact, their tone, and what went behind the creation of them. It's really an enlightening read, and certainly worth the time taken to peruse.

Overall score: 4.5/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation.

[James Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I think I might start reading biographies. And listening to more jazz.
Having the records from Cannonball playing in the background while I was reading each era of his life definitely made this read an experience and a journey.
Highly recommend

[Mike Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having just finished this book, I admire the life of this man more than ever. Cannonball Adderley was someone who not only wanted to bring joy to people's lives through music, he wanted to use it as a tool to educate people regarding jazz and its vital role in the United States and around the world. For jazz fans, and fans of music in general, I would highly recommend this book.

[Steven D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannonball seems almost forgotten today, or regarded as too commercial, but in his day there was no better hard bop combo, and he played a major role in the development of soul jazz as well. His early and middle records hold up beautifully; he struggled to find relevance later in his career, in the late 60s and early 70s, but so did almost everyone in jazz under the onslaught of rock.

This book tells his story very straight-forwardly, talking about both his life and the meaning of his music. It is an outstanding jazz book about an outstanding musician.

[Ben Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting glimpse into someone's life. It was kind of crazy to see life as a book, one decision sweeping into the next.
Cary Ginell seemed infatuated with Cannonball, like he could do no wrong, but it seemed to me like Cannonball wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Loved the music though, this book is really heightened by listening along to Cannonball's music as it's mentioned. However, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy will remain my favourite of his songs.
Also who'd have thunk that you'd learn the origin of Alvin and the Chipmunks in this.

[Bob K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent account of the life of an overlooked jazz giant. It might be a little long on dry facts and could have gone deeper into Cannonball Adderley as a human being and an artist. But I get the impression the publisher wanted something fairly compact.

One theme of the book is that he was deserving of greater recognition. I'm on board with that and it does fulfill its mission by inspiring me to dive even deeper into the Cannonball catalog.

[Jc Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and 74 Miles Away were albums in my dad’s collection that got me hooked. Ginell’s biography points to other highlights like Somethin’ Else and The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco. Also conveys what great guys Cannonball and Nat were, playing and teaching jazz at high schools and colleges while on tour, even at the height of fame.

[Ibrahim Abbasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this biography. The writing was formal and informative but still really engaging. There were one or two really good pieces of imagery used to describe Adderley's performances throughout the book that really leapt out at me and made the narration come alive.

[Bookcat88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jazz fans will dig this one. This is a well researched biography of a larger-than-life jazz hero. Cannonball Adderly was not only a virtuosic player, innovator, and bandleader, he also shined for his affable nature. He was well loved by audiences during his tragically too-short career, and is studied to this day by jazz musicians of all levels. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the history of America's indigenous classical music - jazz.

[Jax B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book taught me about the life of my favorite saxophone player. Cannonball Adderley is one of the best saxophone players to ever live. This book teaches you on some ways he was was different then the others and some of his techniques.