''The Black Messiah'' is a live album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single " Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", w ...

recorded at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California in 1971 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

, Walter Booker and

Roy McCurdy Roy McCurdy (born November 28, 1936) is a jazz drummer. Career Before joining Cannonball Adderley's Quintet in 1965 and staying with the band until Adderley's death in 1975, he had played with Chuck and Gap Mangione in the Jazz Brothers (1960–1 ...

with guest appearances by

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the B ...

, Mike Deasy,

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa ...

Alvin Batiste Alvin Batiste (November 7, 1932 – May 6, 2007) was an American avant-garde jazz clarinetist born, who was in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He taught at his own jazz institute at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His ...

, and

Buck Clarke William Lewis "Buck" Clarke (October 2, 1933 – October 11, 1988) was an American jazz percussionist who played with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Smith and others. Clarke's many musical s ...

.Cannonball Adderley discography
accessed November 3, 2009. After many years of being out of print, ''The Black Messiah'' was reissued in 2014 by Real Gone Music; the new 2CD reissue included liner notes by music journalist/blogger Bill Kopp.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars and states: "Still immersed in the burgeoning electronic jazz-rock explosion of the times, Cannonball Adderley goes further toward a rapprochement with the rock and soul audiences than ever before on this fascinating, overlooked double album."Ginell, R. S. Allmusic review accessed November 3, 2009.

Track listing

''All compositions by Julian "Cannonball" Adderley except as indicated'' # ''Introduction'' – 0:50 # "Black Messiah" (George Duke) – 16:12 # ''Monologue'' – 2:20 # "Little Benny Hen" (Mike Deasy) – 4:15 # "Zanek" (Deasy) – 5:07 # "Dr. Honoris Causa" (

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

) – 14:48 # "The Chocolate Nuisance" (Nat Adderley, Roy McCurdy) – 8:22 # "Untitled" (Airto Moreira) – 6:21 # "The Steam Drill" – 8:42 # "Eyes of the Cosmos" (Ernie Watts) – 4:51 # "Episode from the Music Came" (Alvin Batiste) – 2:39 # "Heritage" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

) – 4:43 # "Circumference" (Duke) – 3:18 # "Pretty Paul" – 2:48 # "The Scene" (Nat Adderley, Zawinul) – 2:16 :* Recorded August 3–9, 1971 at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA.

Personnel

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, so ...

–

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

, vocals *

– piano * Walter Booker – bass *

– drums *

– percussion * Mike Deasy – guitar, vocals (tracks 4, 5, 7, 10, 11 & 13–15) *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 11 & 13–15) *

– clarinet (tracks 11 & 13–15) *

– African percussion (tracks 7 & 13–15)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Messiah, The 1971 live albums Capitol Records live albums Cannonball Adderley live albums Nat Adderley live albums albums produced by David Axelrod (musician) Albums recorded at the Troubadour