In 1969 Julian “Cannonball” Adderley set out on a European tour with brother Nat, Joe Zawinul, the dynamic bassist Victor Gaskin and the energetic Roy McCurdy on drums. One of the quintet’s guest appearances was in Stuttgart. Even during the sound check the musicians seemed to sense the Liederhalle’s unique atmosphere, for that evening’s concert would be the highlight of the tour. From soul and blues (Sweet Emma, Oh Babe), to free-form contemporary (The Painted Desert), and lollipops cleverly combined with commercialism (Work Song), the audience that night witnessed the sublime art of the quintet – never mind that this classic bebop formation was already on the wane.
And then there was Zawinul! If anything, it was his concert. Jet-black at the keyboard in his version of Why Am I Treated So Bad by the Staples Singers; swinging and quirky at the piano (Rumpelstiltskin, The Painted Desert), he was like a kobold stoking the fi re, as if trying to shake of the hypnosis that had gripped him a month earlier while recording In A Silent Way.
When one thing stops, something new always comes along. Things Are Getting Better. The following year the Adderley Brothers experimented with big band collages and world music. Zawinul formed Weather Report and rocketed to worldwide fame. But the concert of March 1969 endures – the legacy of a unique quintet. Soulful and swinging, a timeless classic to this day.

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (as), Nat Adderley (tp),
Joe Zawinul (p, key), Victor Gaskin (b), Roy McCurdy (dr)