His educational career was long established prior to teaching applied instrumental music classes at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cannonball moved to Tallahassee, Florida when his parents obtained teaching positions at Florida A&M University.Both Cannonball and brother Nat played with Ray Charles when Charles lived in Tallahassee during the early 1940s.Cannonball was a local legend in Florida until he moved to New York City in 1955, where he lived in Corona, Queens.

It was in New York during this time that Adderley's prolific career began. Adderley visited the Cafe Bohemia (Oscar Pettiford's group was playing that night) where he brought his saxophone into the club with him, primarily because he feared that it would be stolen. He was asked to sit in as the saxophone player was late, and in true Cannonball style, he soared through the changes, and became a sensation in the following weeks.

Prior to joining the Miles Davis band, Adderley formed his own group with his brother Nat after signing onto the Savoy jazz label in 1957. He was noticed by Miles Davis, and it was because of his blues-rooted alto saxophone that Davis asked him to play with his group.

Adderley joined the Miles Davis sextet in October 1957, three months prior to John Coltrane's return to the group. Adderley played on the seminal Davis records Milestones and Kind of Blue. This period also overlapped with pianist Bill Evans's time with the sextet, an association that led to recording Portrait of Cannonball and Know What I Mean?.

His interest as an educator carried over to his recordings. In 1961, Cannonball narrated The Child's Introduction to Jazz, released on Riverside Records.

Band leader

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured Cannonball on alto sax and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. Adderley's first quintet was not very successful; however, after leaving Davis' group, he formed another, again with his brother, which enjoyed more success.[citation needed]Cannonball" Adderley

The new quintet (which later became the Cannonball Adderley Sextet) and Cannonball's other combos and groups, included such noted musicians as:
pianists Bobby Timmons, Victor Feldman, Joe Zawinul, Hal Galper, Michael Wolff, George Duke, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans
bassists Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Walter Booker, Victor Gaskin
drummers Louis Hayes, Roy McCurdy
saxophonists Charles Lloyd, Yusef Lateef.

The sextet was noteworthy towards the end of the 1960s for achieving crossover success with pop audiences, but doing it without making artistic concessions.[citation needed]

Later life

By the end of 1960s, Adderley's playing began to reflect the influence of the electric jazz avant-garde, and Miles Davis' experiments on the album Bitches Brew.[citation needed] On his albums from this period, such as Accent on Africa (1968) and The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970), he began doubling on soprano saxophone, showing the influence of John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter.[citation needed] In that same year, his quintet appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and a brief scene of that performance was featured in the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me, starring Clint Eastwood.[citation needed] In 1975 he also appeared (in an acting role alongside Jose Feliciano and David Carradine) in the episode "Battle Hymn" in the third season of the TV series Kung Fu.

Joe Zawinul's composition "Cannon Ball" (recorded on Weather Report's album Black Market) is a tribute to his former leader.

Songs made famous by Adderley and his bands include "This Here" (written by Bobby Timmons), "The Jive Samba," "Work Song" (written by Nat Adderley), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (written by Joe Zawinul) and "Walk Tall" (written by Zawinul, Marrow and Rein). A cover version of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)?" also entered the charts.

Adderley was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America Incorporated (Gamma Theta, University of North Texas, '60, & Xi Omega, Frostburg State University, '70), the largest and oldest music fraternity in America and Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest existing intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans (made Beta Nu chapter, Florida A&M University).

Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida. Later that year he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

As leader
Presenting Cannonball Adderley 1955 Savoy
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley 1955 EmArcyJulian Cannonball Adderley and Strings1955 EmArcy

n the Land of Hi-Fi with Julian Cannonball Adderley 1956 EmArcy
Sophisticated Swing 1957 EmArcy
Cannonball Enroute 1957 Mercury
Cannonball's Sharpshooters 1958 Mercury
Somethin' Else - with Miles Davis 1958 Blue Note
Portrait of Cannonball 1958 Riverside
Jump for Joy 1958 EmArcy
Things Are Getting Better - with Milt Jackson 1958 Riverside
Blue Spring - with Kenny Dorham 1959 Riverside
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago 1959 Mercury
Cannonball Takes Charge 1959 Riverside
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco 1959 Riverside
Them Dirty Blues 1960 Riverside
Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners 1960 Riverside
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse 1960 Riverside
Know What I Mean? - with Bill Evans 1961 Riverside
African Waltz - with orchestra conducted by Ernie Wilkins 1961 Riverside
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus with Wynton Kelly 1961 Riverside
Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley 1961 Capitol
The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York 1962 Riverside
Cannonball in Europe! 1962 Riverside
Jazz Workshop Revisited 1962 Riverside
Cannonball's Bossa Nova 1962 Riverside
Autumn Leaves 1963 Riverside (Japan)
Nippon Soul 1963 Riverside
Cannonball Adderley Live! 1964 Capitol
Live Session! - with Ernie Andrews 1964 Capitol
Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler on the Roof 1964 Capitol
Domination - with orchestra conducted by Oliver Nelson 1965 Capitol
Money in the Pocket 1966 Capitol
Great Love Themes - with strings conducted by Ray Ellis 1966 Capitol
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' 1966 Capitol
Cannonball in Japan 1966 Capitol
Radio Nights 1967 Night
74 Miles Away 1967 Capitol
Why Am I Treated So Bad! 1967 Capitol
In Person - with Lou Rawls and Nancy Wilson 1968 Capitol
Accent on Africa 1968 Capitol
Country Preacher 1969 Capitol
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra 1970 Capitol
Love, Sex, and the Zodiac 1970 Capitol
The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free 1970 Capitol
The Happy People 1970 Capitol
The Black Messiah 1970 Capitol
Music You All 1970 Capitol
Inside Straight 1973 Milestone
Pyramid 1974 Milestone
Phenix 1975 Milestone
Lovers 1975 Milestone
Big Man 1975 Milestone

As sideman

With Kenny Clarke
Bohemia After Dark (1955)

With Nat Adderley
Introducing Nat Adderley (1955)
To the Ivy League from Nat (1956)
That's Right! (1960)
In the Bag (1962)
Soul Zodiac (1972)
Soul of the Bible (1972)
Double Exposure (1975)

With Sarah Vaughan
In the Land of Hi-Fi (1955)

With Dinah Washington
In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956)

With Milt Jackson
Plenty, Plenty Soul (1957)

With Miles Davis
Milestones (1958)
Miles & Monk at Newport (1958)
Jazz at the Plaza (1958)
Porgy and Bess (1958)
Kind of Blue (1959)

With Louis Smith
Here Comes Louis Smith (1958)

With Gil Evans
New Bottle Old Wine (1958)

With John Benson Brooks
Alabama Concerto (1958)

With Paul Chambers
Go (1959)

With Philly Joe Jones
Drums Around the World (1959)

With Jon Hendricks
A Good Git-Together (1959)

With Jimmy Heath
Really Big! (1960)

With Sam Jones
The Chant (1961)

With Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Back Door Blues (1961)

With Ray Brown
Ray Brown with the All Star Big Band (1962)

With Oscar Peterson
Bursting Out with the All-Star Big Band! (1962)

With Joe Williams
Joe Williams Live (1972)

With David Axelrod
Heavy Axe (1974)

With Raul de Souza
Colors (1974)









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