Cannonball Adderley
gave up his own band in 1957 when he had the opportunity to become a sideman in
Miles Davis
' epic ensemble with
John Coltrane
, eventually resulting in some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time (including
Milestones
and
Kind of Blue
).
Davis
returned the favor in March of 1958, appearing as a sideman on
Adderley
's all-star quintet date for
Blue Note
, and the resulting session is indeed
Somethin' Else
. Both horn players are at their peak of lyrical invention, crafting gorgeous, flowing blues lines on the title tune and "One for Daddy-O," as the rhythm team (
Hank Jones
,
Sam Jones
Art Blakey
) creates a taut, focused groove (pianist
' sly, intuitive orchestrations are studies of harmonic understatement).
's lush, romantic improvisation on "Dancing in the Dark" is worthy of
Charlie Parker
or
Johnny Hodges
, while the band refurbishes "Autumn Leaves" and "Love for Sale" into cliche-free swingers. And "Alison's Uncle" puts a boppish coda on
, one of the most gloriously laid-back blowing sessions of the hard bop era.