Cannonball Adderley (Wikipedia) is one of best alto saxophonists from the hard bop era. As a sideman, he played with Miles Davis including the Kind of Blue album. After he left Miles Davis, Cannonball started his own successful quintet. Cannonball viewed himself as a jazz educator, always trying to teach people about jazz and bringing younger players in his band.

One of those young players was Joe Zawinul (Wikipedia), who later headed one of the greatest fusion bands ever, Weather Report. While in Cannonball’s band, Joe wrote Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

The song is more cross-over than traditional bebop but it sure is a fun listen. My favorite recording is the live one on Cannonball’s aptly named album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Live at “The Club“. In it, Cannonball gives this fantastic introduction that makes me smile every time I listen to it, especially when faced adversity for which I am not prepared. Finally, I can’t introduce you to this song without at least pointing to my second favorite recording of it, done by the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1968.

I was working in the garden a few days ago listening to Clifford Brown’s Joy Spring which seems appropriate for this time of year. Clifford Brown isn’t as well known as some of the other jazz legends of the bebop era because he died so young. “Brownie” had a great sound and was an accomplished composer. Joy Spring is one of my favorite jazz tunes.

In 1955, Clifford Brown and Max Roach combined for this album, considered one of the iconic albums of the hard bop movement. The band included Clifford, co-leader and drummer Max Roach, Harold Land on tenor sax, Richie Powell (the younger brother of Bud Powell) and bassist George Morrow. If you are just going to buy one track, get Joy Spring, but you can get the entire album for $6.

Clifford was a straight-living trumpeter during a period when so many jazz players were heroin addicts. Unfortunately he died at just 25 years old in a car accident. Tragic. (Wikipedia) For years afterward, jazz musicians paid tribute to Clifford Brown including Benny Golson’s I Remember Clifford which, coincidentally, is not one of my favorite jazz tunes.

Ballads is one of my favorite jazz albums. I’ve had a lifelong relationship with this album. While John Coltrane is best known for his more frantic stuff, this album proves just how sweetly he could play ballads. No matter how much I twist myself up, the opening riff of Say It (track 1) always unwinds me, immediately. When my daughters were babies, this is the music I used to put them to sleep.

Remarkably, all but one of the songs were recorded in one take. Crazy. I’ve bought it in vinyl, CD, and digital. Best of all, it’s now only six bucks on iTunes. So worth it.

In 1960, Mack the Knife was a relatively new song and people loved it. So on a whim, Ella added it to a performance she was doing in Berlin. The trouble was that she didn’t know the words very well and about halfway through had a lyrics train wreck. If this were any other singer in the world, this would be ugly. However, when Ella forgets lyrics, songs actually get better. Don’t believe me. Check this out.