A rare collection of previously unreleased recordings of jazz legend Cannonball Adderley from the late ’60s has gone digital for the first time.
The newly issued recordings were captured live on a radio broadcast over four nights at the famous Penthouse jazz club in Seattle between 1966 and 1967, at the height of Adderley’s career.
Those recordings spent decades sitting in an archive until Canadian saxophonist and Cellar Music Group founder Cory Weeds discovered them. Now, his Vancouver-based label’s Reel to Real imprint has teamed up with New York distributor La Reserve to release Swingin’ in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966–1967) for streaming on all digital platforms.
“The introduction of this historically significant recording to digital platforms will extend this story to a wider audience of listeners and fans,” the publishers said in a press release.
“Cannonball Adderley’s musical career took him through a number of phases. Gems are to be found on most every Cannonball session. But the most fun — and that’s a word that meant a great deal to the man — recordings and performances in Adderley’s deep catalogue came during this time in what was also his commercial peak. For this reason, Swingin’ in Seattle is an essential part of Cannonball Adderley’s story.”
The album is available to stream or to buy on CD, vinyl or as a digital download. It previously had only a limited release in late 2018.
Swingin’ in Seattle features Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone, Nat Adderley on cornet, Joe Zawinul on piano, Victor Gaskin on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums. The recording preserves Cannonball’s banter between tunes, making the listener feel “as if they’re sitting right there at the Penthouse in the front row.”
The release also includes rare photos alongside interviews with Roy McCurdy, Olga Adderley Chandler and studio engineer Jim Wilke.
Swingin’ in Seattle is available now via Cellar Live.
