Nat Adderley 

cornet/ trumpet

1931 - 1999


Cornetist and occasional trumpeter Nat Adderley, the younger brother of alto saxophone giant Cannonball Adderley, clearly suffered little sibling rivalry as a result of playing in the looming shadow of his more celebrated kin. He continued to lead a very successful quintet or sextet under his own name after Cannonball's mid-1975 death.

Born in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 25, 1931, Adderley worked with Lionel Hampton's band in the 1954-'55 period, then with his brother from 1955 to 1957, with Woody Herman in 1959 and, finally, with Cannonball in a very popular quintet from 1959 to 1975. As a brass stylist, Nat is most often compared with Miles Davis, although there also are elements of Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie in his mostly mellow sound.

He's composed the widely known "Jive Samba" and "Work Song," among others, and has recorded for numerous labels in the years since his brother's death. One of the best of those recordings is the 1990 Enja effort The Old Country. He was mostly inactive in the years since the amputation of a leg in mid-1997 as the result of diabetes complications and he died in 1999.

 
Go to Nat Adderley's page at emusic for free MP3 downloads
Recommended recordings
Yokohama Concert 2 Chain Reaction
 
Work Song OJC 363-2 - Riverside 1167
Much Brass OJC 848-2 - Riverside 1143
Branching Out OJC 255-2 - Riverside 285
In the Bag OJC 648-2 - Jazzland 975
That's Right OJC 791-2 - Riverside 9330 
Little Big Horn OJC 1001-2 - Riverside 9474
A Little New York Midtown Music  OJC 1008-2 - Galaxy 5120
Summer of '55 Savoy Jazz
Introducing Nat Adderley Verve
Autumn Leaves (Live at Sweet Basil) Evidence Music
On the Move Evidence Music
Blue Autumn Evidence Music

Yokohama Concert /LIVE with J.J. Johnson

Fantasy / Pablo
   
 
Some of the Best Contemporary Jazz Trumpet Players

Wynton Marsalis

Roy Hargrove
Nicholas Payton
Terence Blanchard
Randy Brecker
Wallace Roney