On My Way Home - A Tribute to Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson

Album Review

Jimmy "JuneBug" Jackson is best known for being the drummer with Jimmy Smith's group on and off during the organist's last 20 years. For this set, Jackson performs seven songs that were recorded on the famous album that Nancy Wilson made in the early 1960s with Cannonball Adderley's quintet, along with three newer songs. There is one obvious difference in that neither Adderley nor Wilson is present. While Jackson has six vocals (sharing the vocal spotlight with Alisa Anderson on "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over"), he is obviously not even close to the level of Wilson. Various horn players are only used on four of the ten numbers and, needless to say, there is no Cannonball Adderley among them. There are plenty of good spirits to be felt in the music with keyboardist William Knowles being the key soloist, and it is nice to hear such numbers as "Teaneck," "The Old Country," "Unit 7," and "Never Will I Marry" being revived. The final selection, "Save Your Love for Me," serves as a coda and features the Jimmy Smith Quartet. But nothing all that essential occurs and while serving as a good reminder of a classic set, the Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley CD is very much available and a better buy.