Review by JW July 28, 2003 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Take any Julian "Cannonball" Adderly (1928-1975) disc and you will recognize his upbeat sound. The nickname 'Cannonball' by the way was a play on the word 'cannibal' describing his large appetite as a child.
"Know What I Mean" is jazz that can make you feel good. And what an album, with superstars like Bill Evans on piano and Percy Heath (b) and Connie Kay (dr) - the latter two of Modern Jazz Quartet fame. This is a mainstream jazz album in a similar vein as Ray Brown's "Soular Energy" which I also reviewed in this site. It just immediately grabs you and the music is fun, accessable and varied.
If you want to rekindle that smoky jazz club atmosphere listen to 'Goodbye','Venice' or 'Nancy' - just picture the cigar smoke rise up and dissipate :-) The album features 5 ballads but is generally upbeat, mellow and sophisticated. Every track on this album is strong with every player clearly at the top of their form.
The sonics are 'vintage' APO. Beautiful rich sound, large soundstage with good instrument separation. Tape hiss is audible and the odd drop-outs and crackles (the intro of 'Elsa' for example) but personally I think it never intrudes on the sound quality and it somehow befits the music. It gives you the feel of a real period jazz album, and it's only really audible at the start of the slower tunes anyway.
Jw
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