At the Lighthouse

Product Details

At The Lighthouse is another of the Adderley albums originally recorded on Riverside but taken by Adderley when he left the company for Capitol in 1963. For a time it was available in the 1990s on Landmark records, producer Orrin Keepnews's label, but this is its first CD release in Britain. On an album with already generous playing time by vinyl standards, there is an extra track, a workout on Tadd Dameron's "Our Delight". That apart, this was a popular record in its day, bringing to Adderley's fans their first recordings by the quintet of "Work Song" and "Sack O'Woe", two of their biggest early hits. ("Work Song" first appeared on brother Nat's eponymous Riverside album just before this). Cannon is his usual imperious self, that beautiful, buoyant tone helping his improvisations glide along. Nat, as always, is less perfect but more fiery, giving the partnership his own special sensibility. The superb bass and drums of Sam Jones and Louis Hayes is given a special lift by the new arrival of Victor Feldman on piano. The audience is quiet (hooray!), Cannon is urbane in his announcements and the recording quality is, for its age, spot-on. --Keith Shadwick