Nat Adderley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nat Adderley
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Adderley performing in Braunschweig, 1993
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley |
| Born | November 25, 1931 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2000 (aged 68) Lakeland, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Trumpet, cornet |
| Labels | Savoy, Wing, EmArcy, Riverside, Jazzland, Atlantic, Milestone |
Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (born November 25, 1931 – died January 2, 2000) was an American jazz musician. He played the trumpet and later the cornet. Nat was the younger brother of famous saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. He played with his brother for many years.
Nat Adderley wrote a famous jazz song called "Work Song" in 1960. This song became a "jazz standard," meaning it's a well-known and often played jazz tune. It even became popular on pop music charts after a singer named Oscar Brown Jr. added words to it.
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Nat Adderley's Early Life
Nat Adderley was born in Tampa, Florida. His family later moved to Tallahassee. His parents became teachers at Florida A&M University. Nat's father used to play the trumpet. He gave his trumpet to Nat's older brother, Cannonball.
When Cannonball started playing the alto saxophone, he gave the trumpet to Nat. Nat began playing in 1946. Nat and Cannonball even played with the famous musician Ray Charles in the early 1940s. They also played at small local shows.
Nat went to Florida University. He studied sociology and also music. In 1950, he switched from the trumpet to the cornet. From 1951 to 1953, he was in the army. He played in the army band with his brother. He even went to Korea during his army service. After the army, he planned to become a teacher.
But then, a famous bandleader named Lionel Hampton played a concert at Florida A&M. Nat played for Hampton, who was very impressed. Hampton invited Nat to join his band. Nat decided to put his teaching plans on hold. He played with Hampton from 1954 to 1955. He even toured Europe with the band.
Nat Adderley's Music Career
Starting in the 1950s
A big moment for the Adderley brothers happened in 1955. They were visiting New York City. They stopped by a club called the Café Bohemia. The bassist Oscar Pettiford was playing there. Both Nat and Cannonball were ready to play.
Cannonball was asked to play the saxophone because the regular player was away. He played so well that everyone was amazed. Then Nat was invited to play, and he impressed everyone too. This performance helped them get many job offers. Nat recorded his first music that same year.
The brothers moved to New York City. In 1956, they started their own jazz group. It was called the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. At first, not many people were interested in their music. So, they stopped playing together in 1957. Nat then played with other musicians. He played for trombonist J. J. Johnson and later joined the Woody Herman sextet.
Cannonball became more famous. He joined the Miles Davis sextet. This group included another jazz legend, John Coltrane. Cannonball helped record the famous album Kind of Blue with Miles Davis.
In 1959, the Cannonball Adderley Quintet started playing together again. This time, they were much more successful! They had their first hit song, "This Here." It was written by their pianist, Bobby Timmons. Their group's sound became known as "soul jazz." This style of jazz became very popular.
The quintet also played a style called "hard bop." This was a more challenging and skilled type of jazz. It allowed the musicians to show off their amazing playing abilities. Soul jazz kept the group popular, while hard bop let them explore complex music.
Playing in the 1960s
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During the 1960s, Nat Adderley was very important to the quintet. He played the cornet and wrote many songs. He also helped manage the band. He wrote some of the group's most successful songs.
His most famous song was "Work Song" (from January 1960). It was a hard bop tune. Nat called it his "Social Security song." This was because he earned steady money from it over the years. Other musicians would record his song, and he would get paid. "Work Song" is now a classic jazz song. Other popular songs he wrote include "Jive Samba" and "Hummin'"
Even though he was a key part of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Nat also worked on other projects. He recorded music with other jazz artists. These included Kenny Clarke, Wes Montgomery, and Walter Booker.
Nat also worked on a movie called A Man Called Adam (1966). The main character, played by Sammy Davis Jr., played the trumpet. But Sammy Davis Jr. couldn't actually play the trumpet. So, Nat Adderley was hired to play all the trumpet parts for the character.
Another big project for Nat and his brother was a musical. They wrote a musical called Shout Up a Morning. It was based on the folk hero John Henry. They were still working on it when Cannonball sadly passed away.
The 1970s and Beyond
After Cannonball's death in 1975, the quintet stopped playing together. Nat Adderley then toured Europe as a main performer. He also toured Japan. Later, he returned to the U.S. and taught classes at Harvard. He continued to perform and record with his own group. This group included talented musicians like Walter Booker and Jimmy Cobb. Nat became a well-known artist in his own right. He also worked with other famous jazz musicians.
In the 1980s, Nat Adderley formed a group called the Adderley Brotherhood. This group included some members from the original Cannonball Adderley Quintet. They toured Europe in 1980. The musical Shout Up a Morning was performed in different places in the U.S. in 1986.
Nat Adderley joined several other music groups in the next ten years. These included the Paris Reunion Band. He also played with the Riverside Reunion Band. This group formed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1993. They then toured Europe in 1994.
Nat Adderley spent half the year touring and the other half at home. He lived in Lakeland, Florida. There, he would write and record music. He felt that many of his biggest fans were in Japan and Europe.
In 1997, he started teaching at Florida Southern College. He helped start the annual Child of the Sun Jazz Festival there. He was the main performer at this festival for over ten years. In the same year, he was honored. He was added to the Jazz Hall of Fame in Kansas City.
Nat Adderley lived in different places during his life. He lived in Harlem in New York City in the 1960s. He also lived in Teaneck, New Jersey, in the 1970s. Before moving to Lakeland, he lived near his brother in Corona, Queens.
Nat Adderley's Death and Legacy
Nat Adderley passed away at age 68 in Lakeland, Florida. He had health problems from diabetes. He was buried near his brother in Tallahassee, Florida. He was survived by his wife, Ann, his son, Nat Adderley Jr., his daughter, Alison, and five grandchildren.
Nat Adderley was a very important musician. He helped make soul jazz popular. He recorded almost 100 albums! He showed that the cornet could be a modern jazz instrument.
Nat Adderley's Music Style
Nat Adderley started playing the trumpet. But he later switched to the cornet, which is less common in jazz. He liked the cornet's darker sound better than the trumpet's brighter sound. He could make a rich, deep sound that became his special style. This sound could only come from the cornet. He also liked that the cornet was used by early jazz musicians. He helped bring the instrument back into modern jazz.
Nat Adderley is known for helping create the "soul jazz" style in the 1960s. He did this with the other members of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Soul jazz has simple melodies and a strong blues feeling. It also has catchy musical phrases and sounds like church music. The goal of soul jazz was to bring back a simpler type of jazz. This jazz was directly influenced by blues and church music.
However, soul jazz was not the only style Nat Adderley played. The quintet was also famous for their "hard bop" music. About half of their recorded music was hard bop. This style is rougher and more exciting. It came from "bebop" jazz. Playing hard bop requires great skill and talent.
As a solo player and composer, Nat Adderley had many skills. He could play simpler, soulful solos for soul jazz songs. But he could also experiment and show off all his abilities for hard bop. When playing hard bop, he often used the full range of his instrument. He would sometimes play very low notes on the cornet. Even though his playing range started to lessen in the late 1960s, he kept playing music for the rest of his life.
Images for kids
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Nat Adderley performing in Braunschweig, 1993
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Nat and Cannonball Adderley playing together in Amsterdam, 1961
See also
In Spanish: Nat Adderley para niños
