Julian, ‘Cannonball’ Adderley moved the Alto Sax on after Charlie Parker, straddling Bop, Modal and Funk Jazz.
Originally from Tampa, Florida, Adderley moved to New York in 1955.[6][7] His nickname derived from “cannibal”, a title imposed on him by high school colleagues as a tribute to his voracious appetite.[8]
Cannonball moved to Tallahassee, when his parents obtained teaching positions at Florida A&M University.[9] Both Cannonball and brother Nat played with Ray Charles when Charles lived in Tallahassee during the early 1940s.[10] Adderley moved to Broward County, Florida, in 1948 after finishing his music studies at Florida A&M and became the band director at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, a position which he held until 1950.[7] Cannonball was a local legend in Southeast Florida until he moved to New York City in 1955.
Cannonball played on the seminal Kind of Blue album and his forays into Funk with the Joey Zawinul piece, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ opened his music up to a new generation of fans.