Louis Hayes©Andrea Canter

Of the great saxophonists of 1950s and 60s, one of the best—if historically under-rated—was altoist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. And during his peak period of musical productivity, the man behind the trapset was Louis Hayes. A few years ago, Hayes organized a band to honor the legacy of Canononball. This Cannonball Legacy Band will be on stage at Sweet Rhythm in Greenwich Village on December 31st to celebrate not only the great saxophonist but also the New Year.

With a soulful sound born from his southern gospel roots, Cannonball Adderley’s career exploded in the late 50s when he joined Miles Davis’ sextet, progressing to his own bands with brother cornetist Nat and pianist Bobby Timmons. His exuberant hard bop resulted in many acclaimed Blue Note and Riverside recordings, but his later, commercial work on Capitol--for better or worse—has been more associated with the soul music movement than serious jazz. As a result, Cannonball Adderley has been relatively underappreciated by most jazz historians. Said his old Riverside producer, Orrin Keepnews, “his work is considered relatively invalid because it’s popular…An awful lot of the soul music nonsense of that period was rightly or wrongly attributed to him and his success… There is continuous evidence of musical intelligence and sensitivity in his work. He is one of the most impressive ballad players. He was never in any danger of being swallowed by that soul stuff.” Although compared to Charlie Parker early in his career, Cannonball Adderley had his own style. Said altoist Donald Harrison, “Each note was an entity all to itself, meaning that he put something special on each note…”

William Galison

An internationally acclaimed innovator on the unlikely jazz instrument, the harmonica, William Galison has been dubbed “the most original and individual of the new generation of harmonica players” by none other than the greatest of them all, Toots Thielemans. If his name is not familiar, his music certainly is through his playing on the themes of "Sesame Street", "The Untouchables," "Bagdad Cafe" and hundreds of other movie scores, albums and commercials. With a resume that includes Sting, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Astrud Giberto, Ruth Brown and Peggy Lee, Galison also is an accomplished guitarist, singer and songwriter. On Thursday, December 17th, Galison will perform at Cachaça in Manhattan.

William Galison was born and raised in New York City. After early study of classical piano, at age eight he switched to guitar, inspired by the Beatles. Developing a love of jazz in high school, he went on to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he again changed instruments because "I was one of a million guitarists at Berklee." With Toots Thielemans and Stevie Wonder as role models, he became Berklee’s only harmonica player and played "till I got dizzy."

Billy Hart©Andrea Canter

“Billy Hart, through the power of his musical vision and strength of his personality galvanizes these diverse players in a band which generates excitement as well as thought.” –High Note Records

One of the most acclaimed small ensembles of the past year, The Billy Hart Quartet (with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson and Ben Street) is featured this week at the Iridium in Manhattan (December 20-23). Their self-titled High Note release (2005) was hailed by many critics as one of the best of the year.

One of the unsung stars of modern jazz drumming, Billy Hart has appeared on over 600 recordings, including appearances with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, and Joe Lovano. A native of Washington, DC, among his first employers were local stars Shirley Horn and Buck Hill, while during the 60s he toured with Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Eddie Harris and Pharoah Sanders. For three years, he was the drummer for the Herbie Hancock Sextet, followed by stints with McCoy Tyner and Stan Gets in the mid to late 70s. Throughout the 80s, Hart played with the bands of Gerry Mulligan, Billy Harper, Clark Terry, Mingus Dynasty, and particularly with Quest (Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach and Ron McClure). He worked with Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano and Tom Harrell in the 90s, backing the Three Tenors (Liebman, Lovano and Michael Brecker) starting in 1999. Hart devotes considerable time to jazz education, through the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, New York University and the New School University; for the past few years he has also been the drummer in residence for the Healdsburg (CA) Jazz Festival.

Cedar Walton

“One of the elder statesmen of the hard-bop genre and one of the true living legends of jazz piano.” – Joel Roberts, All About Jazz

One of the famed alumni of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Cedar Walton is one of the most acclaimed—and busy—pianists of his generation. For the next two weeks, Walton holds forth at the Village Vanguard, with his trio (December 18-23) and then adds saxman Vincent Herring for another six nights with his quartet (December 25-30). That’s a double dose of Walton’s Magic—the perfect jazz gift for the holidays.

Taught piano by his mother in his native Dallas, Cedar Walton studied music at the University of Denver before moving to New York in 1955. The Army became his first significant gig, however, and his early bandmates while stationed in Germany included Leo Wright, Don Ellis, and Eddie Harris. After returning to New York, he recorded and/or played with Keny Dorham, J.J. Johnson, the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet and John Coltrane (Giant Steps)in the late 50s and early 60s. He became a Jazz Messenger in 1961, joining Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard for three years. In the mid to late 60s, we worked as Abbey Lincoln’s accompanist, recorded with Art Farmer, Hank Mobley, Pat Martino, Charles McPherson and Lee Morgan, and served as “house pianist” for Prestige Records. He also co-lead a bop quartet with saxmen Clifford Jordan, George Coleman, or Ralph Moore; bassists Sam Jones or David Williams, and drummer Billy Higgins, an ensemble that became Eastern Rebellion in 1975. Also in the mid 70s, Walton rejoined Blakey for a tour of Japan and again recorded with Art Farmer.