The Legend of Adderley
Julian Edwin “Cannonball” Adderley was born on September 15, 1928, in Tampa, Florida. He was the oldest of two boys and his father, Julian C. Adderley, a cornet player and respected musician encouraged Cannonball and his brother, Nat, to explore their own musical interests.
While Nat followed in his father’s footsteps and took up the cornet, Adderley migrated to the alto saxophone. He later learned to play tenor and soprano sax as well as the flute. At high school in Tallahassee, where his parents had moved the family when they landed teaching jobs at Florida A&M University, Adderley earned the nickname Cannonball.
“When I was going to school I used to eat anything,” he later explained. “So the kids called me Cannibal. Older people didn’t get the connection so they called me Cannonball.”
In 1955, when an old friend saw him perform in New York City, he called him by his hometown nickname and it remained with the saxophonist the rest of his life. After high school, Adderley enrolled at Florida A&M University, where he studied brass and reed instruments. He graduated in 1948 and then remained in his home state for several years, taking a position as band director at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale. But by the early 1950s Adderley had outgrown the local music scene, and in 1955 he moved to New York City with brother Nat. There, the two brothers formed the Cannonball Adderley Quintet.
The same year he moved to New York City, Adderley made a splash with a cameo at a nightclub. Praise was heaped upon him for his fast-paced, upbeat style, and it wasn’t long before some of the giants of jazz came calling. Having a deep love for his art, Adderley left behind a treasure trove of recordings; compilation albums of his work include Ultimate Cannonball Adderley (1999) from Verve and Ballads (2002) on Blue Note/EMI.
While Nat followed in his father’s footsteps and took up the cornet, Adderley migrated to the alto saxophone. He later learned to play tenor and soprano sax as well as the flute. At high school in Tallahassee, where his parents had moved the family when they landed teaching jobs at Florida A&M University, Adderley earned the nickname Cannonball.
“When I was going to school I used to eat anything,” he later explained. “So the kids called me Cannibal. Older people didn’t get the connection so they called me Cannonball.”
In 1955, when an old friend saw him perform in New York City, he called him by his hometown nickname and it remained with the saxophonist the rest of his life. After high school, Adderley enrolled at Florida A&M University, where he studied brass and reed instruments. He graduated in 1948 and then remained in his home state for several years, taking a position as band director at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale. But by the early 1950s Adderley had outgrown the local music scene, and in 1955 he moved to New York City with brother Nat. There, the two brothers formed the Cannonball Adderley Quintet.
The same year he moved to New York City, Adderley made a splash with a cameo at a nightclub. Praise was heaped upon him for his fast-paced, upbeat style, and it wasn’t long before some of the giants of jazz came calling. Having a deep love for his art, Adderley left behind a treasure trove of recordings; compilation albums of his work include Ultimate Cannonball Adderley (1999) from Verve and Ballads (2002) on Blue Note/EMI.
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