NAT ADDERLEY (1931-2000) AND WORK SONG: AN ANALYSIS OF IMPROVISATIONAL STYLE AND EVOLUTION

Abstract

Nat Adderley was a musical innovator and accomplished improviser of the hard bop jazz movement. His abilities as a jazz musician rivaled many of his musical contemporaries, even though nearly half of his career was spent in the shadow of his more famous brother, saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Nat Adderley was not only known for his outstanding cornet improvisations, but also for his compositional output. Many of his works, such as the Work Song, are now part of the standard jazz repertoire.

This purpose of this project was to provide an evolutionary look at the musical career of Nat Adderley through the study of his composition Work Song. Five improvised solos over this composition from differing points during the course of his career were transcribed and analyzed to show his evolution as a jazz improviser and cornetist, and also to show growth of complexity and maturation of improvisational style within the solos themselves. The transcribed solos are included within the document, both in pure transcribed form and in analyzed form.

Supplementary materials include biographies of Nat Adderley, both professional and personal, and a record discography of Work Song and his complete recorded albums.