John Benson Brooks' Alabama Concerto featuring Cannonball Adderley / Art Farmer.

New York: Riverside,, 1959. Signed by both leading protagonists: "Julian Cannonball Adderley" in blue ball-point on the front cover, and similarly by Art Farmer on the back; a highly unusual pairing of signatures by two of the leading horn men of the period. An intriguing and highly listenable album, teaming Adderley and Farmer with Barry Galbraith (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass) and the composer himself at the piano (in the "third movement" only). The sound of both front men is captured with wonderful clarity. As Orrin Keepnews remarks in his liner notes, "it is doubtful if there has ever before been a musical work quite like this Alabama Concerto, with its bold fusing of jazz virtuosity, folk-music themes, and what is usually called 'serious' composition"; and Cannonball's bio-discographer Chris Sheridan notes that "this is in fact an especially underrated suite of music, based on the Harold Courlander field trip which recorded Negro Folk Music of Alabama for Folkways and ranges from children's songs through spirituals and work songs to lullabies and, of course, the ever-present blues... Most important is that the stories they tell us about the Black experience in Alabama achieve an early 'Third Stream' sophistication while retaining their edge, both in theme and in the expressiveness of the solos, particularly of the horns" (Dis Here: A Bio-Discography of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, 2000, p. 49). 12-inch vinyl LP (Riverside 1123), new plain paper sleeve (original sleeve also present), original album cover, artwork by Walter Williams. Only light shelf wear to cover otherwise very good; disc in excellent condition.