Cannonball’s Sharpshooters, originally released in 1958, documents alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley leading a quintet featuring cornetist Nat Adderley, pianist Junior Mance, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Recorded on March 4 and 6, 1958, at Bell Sound in New York City, the session captures the group just days before Adderley’s recording session for Somethin’ Else with Miles Davis, placing the album at a pivotal moment in his late-1950s trajectory. Cannonball’s Sharpshooters will soon be reissued on vinyl via the Verve Vault series.

The ensemble presents a compact hard-bop program reflecting Adderley’s blues-inflected phrasing alongside the harmonic language of modern bebop. In 1959, Cannonball and Cobb would join Davis for Kind of Blue, while the Adderley brothers continued recording their own work, helping define the hard bop quintet sound of the time.

The repertoire balances standards, bop vehicles, and originals, including Tadd Dameron’s “Our Delight,” the ballad “What’s New?,” Gil Fuller’s “Fuller Bop Man,” and Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser.” Adderley’s trademark exuberance while leading an all-star lineup of 1950s jazz defines the character of this session.

The Verve Vault Series presents all-analog 180-gram vinyl reissues of essential albums from the Verve, Impulse!, Mercury, and associated catalogs. Mastered by Ryan K. Smith from the original analog tapes and pressed at Optimal, each release combines exceptional audio fidelity with meticulous attention to detail — from mastering to jacket reproduction. Verve Vault highlights both iconic titles and overlooked gems from the 1950s through the 1970s.

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