Hot on the heels of session work with Miles Davis and his Kind of Blue-era group, alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded this excellent live date with his brother, cornetist Nat Adderley, along with pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco defined the accessible, yet technically challenging, soul-jazz that Adderley would be associated with for the rest of his career. The warm, exuberant feel of the quintet is especially evident on the set's two finest tracks -- a spirited take on Randy Weston's "Hi-Fly," and on Timmons' swinging "This Here." Two of Adderley's own compositions, "Spontaneous Combustion" and "You Got It!," blend blazing post-bop dexterity with pulsing, infectious blues structures. Both Cannonball and Nat Adderley play with stunning, bluesy brilliance here, while the rhythm section ably anchors the proceedings. Outside of Somethin' Else, Adderley's 1958 masterpiece, In San Francisco may be the saxophonist's defining moment. ~ Anthony Tognazzini

Rovi