Phoenix: a Tribute to Cannonball Adderley

Album Review

As far as jazz goes from performers "keeping their day job," this one is surprisingly nice. The album is a tribute really both to Cannonball Adderley and Charlie Parker, as Doc Stewart plays the alto for either's tone to some degree or another throughout. Realistically, the focus is somewhat more on Adderley, with an emphasis on re-creating some of his classic solos as well as hints of his old band. Dan Delaney provides a nice nightclub piano sound, occasionally emulating Zawinul, but never entirely. A handful of young players take up the rest of the course, including a Coltrane-emulating Luke Pino on tenor. Each player contributes some solos and great accompaniment, but Stewart tends to stay out front in the proceedings. Luckily, his performances are essentially flawless. One can't help but wonder if they've heard those lines before (and chances are, they have in some form), but it's all done in such a tender form of tribute, one can hardly fault the players here. Of course, a tribute album always risks falling well into the shadow of the giants it's in tribute of, and this album walks that line. It succeeds well in general, worth hearing for fans of Adderley perhaps, but more so worth hearing simply as some nice post-bop performances.