The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 158th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!” by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 158^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!” performed by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet.

“You know, sometimes we’re not prepared for adversity / When it happens, sometimes we’re caught short,” the late, great Cannonball Adderley (1928 – 1975) narrates in the intro of the soul-jazz classic, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”.  So, what advice does the hard bop, alto saxophonist extraordinaire give us? “I got it from my pianist, Joe Zawinul, who wrote this tune / And it sounds like what you’re supposed to say / When you have that kind of problem / It’s called ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.’ Zawinul (1932 – 2007), an Austrian 🇦🇹 musician who’d later be renowned for his work with Weather Report, put his foot into this standard. “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” appeared on the live album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Live at “The Club”), attributed to The Cannonball Adderley Quintet (Cannonball, Zawinul, Nat Adderley on cornet, Vic Gatsky on bass, and Roy McCurdy on drums). “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” was a success on the pop charts, peaking at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Nominated for a Grammy thrice, Adderley won once at the 10^th Annual GRAMMY Awards for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group Or Soloist With Small Group for “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”

“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” runs north of five minutes in duration.  It is worth every second.  The record appeals beyond the jazz audience, given its funkiness and utterly infectious groove. While Adderley delivers the uplifting spoken word, Joe Zawinul, Gatsky, and McCurdy setup the groove. While Cannonball and Nat masterfully perform the tuneful melody of the head and break into harmony, they leave the soloing to Zawinul on the keys.  Zawinul gives the listeners a bluesy, soulful electric piano solo. His soloing and improvisations aren’t flashy – he doesn’t overplay – but he packs a mean punch.  The piano licks are ‘finger-licking good’ – or something like that! “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” maintains a cool, hip energy but delivers a knockout punch at the end. Cannonball wails on those high notes. When it comes to “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, The Cannonball Adderley Quintet did that!

Appears in 🔻:

• Mercy: 3BOPS No. 4 (2021)

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet // Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Live at “The Club”) // Capitol // 1967

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 158 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Capitol; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]