1958 · Album
Somethin' Else
Recorded March 9, 1958 · Blue Note · Produced by Alfred Lion
When Cannonball Led and Miles Followed
A rare reversal of roles that somehow made everyone sound better than expected.
By 1958, Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley was a sideman in Miles Davis's working band, which is what makes this album such an interesting document. For one session — March 9, 1958 — the dynamic flipped. Adderley was the leader, Davis the supporting player, and the result is one of the most relaxed and genuinely pleasurable hard bop records of the era. It was Adderley's only album for Blue Note, which gives it a slightly singular quality in his catalog — a one-off that landed in just the right place at just the right time.
The album has a loose, after-hours feel to it. Adderley's alto saxophone playing here is warm and blues-drenched, rooted in the bebop tradition but with a southern richness that set him apart from a lot of his contemporaries. Davis, playing trumpet, sounds like he's enjoying himself — unhurried, cool, and melodically economical in the way that was becoming his signature. The two horns don't compete; they complement each other in a way that feels almost conversational. The rhythm section anchors everything without drawing attention to itself, which is exactly what the music needs. The title track 'Somethin' Else' and the reading of the standard 'Autumn Leaves' are the two performances most listeners come back to, and for good reason — both give you a clear sense of how well this group was listening to one another. 'Autumn Leaves' in particular has a patience to it that rewards repeated listening.
Context matters here. The session was recorded shortly after Davis had wrapped Milestones (1958), his own important record from that period, and you can hear a shared sensibility across both albums — a preference for space, for letting phrases breathe. But where Milestones was Davis pushing his own music forward, Somethin' Else is more about Adderley settling into what he did naturally and doing it exceptionally well. This isn't an album that's trying to reinvent anything. It's a record that's confident in its own pleasures: melody, swing, blues feeling, and the sound of musicians who genuinely enjoy playing together. That's not a small thing, and it's worth seeking out for exactly those reasons.
Who's playing
Sam Jonesdouble bass
Hank Jonespiano
Cannonball Adderleyalto saxophone
Miles Davistrumpet
Art Blakeydrums
Where next?
More by Cannonball Adderley
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley 1955
Bohemia After Dark 1955
Jazz Profile: Cannonball Adderley 1955
Ballads And Blues 1959
The musicians on this record
Kind of Blue 1959
Miles Davis
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
A Night in Tunisia 1960
Art Blakey
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
The Talented Touch 1958
Hank Jones
plays piano here
plays piano here
