The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Mercy Mercy Mercy! - Live At The Club

Start with "Fun" and "Games." Is there anything else to say? The atmosphere is that of a party. There are six protagonists: Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), his brother Nat (cornet), Joe Zawinul (piano), Victor Gaskin (bass), Roy McCurdy (drums), and the audience. Even from the grooves of a record, even forty years later, it's easy to sense the exchange that took place on October 20, 1966, in L.A.: you give something to me, I give something to you. That's how all concerts in the world should be; that's certainly how this one is.

The group is cheerful, it's swinging, eager to entertain. And if after the fire of Nat Adderley's two compositions you move on to the emotion of Joe Zawinul's masterpiece that gives the album its title... sure, as I am, that the listeners received a lot. Joe plays the electric piano here (one of the first instances in jazz), his soft sound perfectly marrying Cannonball's powerful, passionate sax. Total. When it ends, I always wonder what the hell they play in those five minutes, what spell they cast on my ears. I only perceive a sensation, and I am satiated by it.

Of course, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is not an isolated masterpiece, and it would be unfair to overlook the energy of the other compositions. The atmosphere is certainly different, but incredibly it doesn't clash; there's no leap between the two worlds, and this is something that only great bands know how to do. This live performance is good for warming up the muscles, and it's good for warming the heart.

The eloquence of Cannonball blends with the intelligence and fire of Nat, both supported by a rhythm section that couldn't be more passionate, fiery, and dynamic. You wouldn't say, following the stereotype, that an Austrian could be so fiery, even if supported by a solid and versatile bass/drums duo. And yet Joe is there, and he swings, and the whole group swings, and he is there and, as the Americans would say, "knows how to feed the soloists".

And the entire quintet feeds us, who, forty years later, listen again to the magic of that October night that, after the passage of the cannonball, has become a bit warmer.