Nat Adderley

Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, with whom he played for many years. When Cannonball picked up the alto saxophone, he passed the trumpet to Nat, who began playing in 1946. He and Cannonball played with Ray Charles in the early 1940s in Tallahassee and in amateur gigs around the area.

Adderley attended Florida A&M University, majoring in sociology with a minor in music. He switched to cornet in 1950. From 1951 to 1953, he served in the army and played in the army band under his brother, taking at least one tour of Korea before returning to a station in the United States. After returning home, he attended Florida A&M intending to become a teacher.

Shortly before Adderley was expected to begin student teaching, Lionel Hampton played a concert at Florida A&M. Confident in his abilities, he played for Hampton, and Hampton invited him to join the band. Putting school on hold, he played under Hampton from 1954 to 1955 and visited Europe on tour. After returning, he intended to go back to school to become a teacher.

While he was an integral part of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, this was not the only project occupying his time in his career as a professional jazz musician. Since moving to New York, he had been recording outside the Adderley group.

In 1997, he joined the faculty of Florida Southern College as an artist-in-residence. He also helped in the founding and development of the annual Child of the Sun Jazz Festival held annually at the university which he headlined for over a decade. During the same year, he was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in Kansas City. He also lived near his brother in Corona, Queens.

Death and legacy Nat Adderley died as a result of complications from diabetes at the age of 68 in Lakeland, Florida. He was interred near his brother in the Southside Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida. He was survived by his wife, Ann; a son, Nat Adderley Jr. of West Orange, N.J.; a daughter, Alison Adderley-Pittman of Palm Bay, Florida; and five grandchildren. The point of soul jazz was to bring back a simpler type of jazz that had direct influence from blues and church music.

However, this is not the only style that Adderley wrote and played. The quintet was also widely known for their hard bop, which comprised roughly half of their recorded work.

As a soloist and composer, Adderley had a wide range of abilities. He could improvise simpler, more soulful solos for soul jazz numbers, but he could experiment and show off all of his abilities for hard bop. Especially in playing hard bop, he was not afraid to use the range of the instrument, often playing below the typical cornet range for short bursts before returning to the normal range. Although his range was starting to fade by the late 1960s, this did not keep him from continuing to play for the rest of his life.

Discography As leader

Compilation: Live on Planet Earth (West Wind, 2008) – live

As sideman

With Cannonball Adderley Presenting Cannonball Adderley (Savoy, 1955) Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (Emarcy, 1955) In the Land of Hi-Fi with Julian Cannonball Adderley (Emarcy, 1956) Sophisticated Swing (Emarcy, 1957) Cannonball Enroute (Mercury, 1957) Cannonball's Sharpshooters (Mercury, 1958) The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (Riverside, 1959) Them Dirty Blues (Riverside, 1960) The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse (Riverside, 1960) African Waltz (Riverside, 1961) – recorded in 1957 The Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus (Riverside, 1961) Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley (Capitol, 1962) – recorded in 1961 The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York (Riverside, 1962) Cannonball in Europe! (Riverside, 1962) Jazz Workshop Revisited (Riverside, 1962) Autumn Leaves (Riverside, 1963) Nippon Soul (Riverside, 1963) The Sextet (Milestone, 1982) – recorded in 1962–63 Cannonball Adderley Live! (Capitol, 1964) Live Session! (Capitol, 1964) Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler on the Roof (Capitol, 1964) Domination (Capitol, 1965) Great Love Themes (Capitol, 1966) Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club" (Capitol, 1966) Cannonball in Japan (Capitol, 1966) 74 Miles Away (Capitol, 1967) Why Am I Treated So Bad! (Capitol, 1967) In Person (Capitol, 1968) Accent on Africa (Capitol, 1968) Radio Nights (Night/Virgin, 1968) Country Preacher (Capitol, 1969) The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra (Capitol, 1970) The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (Capitol, 1970) The Happy People (Capitol, 1972) – recorded in 1970 The Black Messiah (Capitol, 1971) Music You All (Capitol, 1976) – recorded in 1972 Inside Straight (Fantasy, 1973) – live Love, Sex, and the Zodiac (Fantasy, 1974) – recorded in 1970 Pyramid (Fantasy, 1974) Phenix (Fantasy, 1975) Big Man: The Legend of John Henry (Fantasy, 1975)[2LP] Lovers (Fantasy, 1976) – recorded in 1975 Money in the Pocket (Capitol, 2005) – recorded in 1966

With Gene Ammons Gene Ammons and Friends at Montreux (Prestige, 1973) – live Goodbye (Prestige, 1974)

With Jimmy Heath The Thumper (Riverside, 1960) – recorded in 1959 Really Big! (Riverside, 1960)

With J. J. Johnson J. J. in Person! (Columbia, 1958) Really Livin' (Columbia, 1959) The Yokohama Concert (Pablo Live, 1978) – live recorded in 1977 Chain Reaction: Yokohama Concert, Vol. 2 (Pablo, 2002) – recorded in 1977

With Philly Joe Jones Blues for Dracula (Riverside, 1958) Philly Mignon (Galaxy, 1978) – recorded in 1977

With Sam Jones The Soul Society (Riverside, 1960) The Chant (Riverside, 1961)

With King Curtis The New Scene of King Curtis (New Jazz, 1960) - as Little Brother Soul Meeting (Prestige, 1960)

With Oliver Nelson Encyclopedia of Jazz (Verve, 1967) – recorded in 1965-66 The Sound of Feeling (Verve, 1968) – recorded in 1966-67

With others Kenny Burrell, Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1977) – recorded in 1975 Charlie Byrd, Top Hat (Fantasy, 1975) James Clay, A Double Dose of Soul (Riverside, 1960) Victor Feldman, Soviet Jazz Themes (Äva, 1963) – recorded in 1962 Red Garland, Red Alert (Galaxy, 1978) – recorded in 1977 Benny Golson, That's Funky (Meldac Jazz, 1995) – recorded in 1994 Bennie Green and Gene Ammons, The Swingin'est (Vee-Jay, 1958) Johnny Griffin, White Gardenia (Riverside, 1961) Louis Hayes, Louis Hayes (Vee-Jay, 1960) Milt Jackson, Big Bags (Riverside, 1962) Budd Johnson, Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (Riverside, 1960) Quincy Jones, I/We Had a Ball (Limelight, 1965) – recorded in 1964-65 Wynton Kelly, Kelly Blue (Riverside, 1959) Sal Nistico, Heavyweights (Jazzland, 1962) – recorded in 1961 Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass (MetroJazz, 1958) A. K. Salim, Blues Suite (Savoy, 1958) Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Back Door Blues (Riverside, 1962) – recorded in 1961-62 Don Wilkerson, The Texas Twister (Riverside, 1960) Joe Williams, Joe Williams Live (Fantasy, 1973) – live