''Know What I Mean?'' is a 1962 album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

musician

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", wh ...

, accompanied by

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

and the rhythm section of the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy H ...

. It was released on Riverside label as RLP-433. Barely noticeable on the album cover is a small picture of Bill Evans, directly underneath the sculpture (from

Bertha Schaefer Bertha Schaefer (1895–1971) was an American designer and gallery director, she was known for her furniture designs, and as an interior designer. Biography Schaefer was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1895. Her father Emil Schaefer was a ref ...

Gallery) to Adderley's right.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

review by Rick Anderson awarded the album 4 stars and states: "It's hard to imagine any fan of mainstream jazz not finding much to love on this very fine recording".Anderson, S.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

accessed February 22, 2013 ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled ...

'' awarded the album 3 stars out of 4, stating: "'The quartet date with Bill Evans was one of the last chances to hear him as sole horn, and he sounds fine".

Track listing

#" Waltz for Debby" (

Gene Lees Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music ...

) – 5:15 #" Goodbye" (

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, L ...

) – 6:15 #" Who Cares?" (Take 5) (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

) – 5:57 #"Venice" (

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...

) – 2:55 #"Toy" (

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

) – 5:09 #"Elsa" (

Earl Zindars Earl Zindars (September 25, 1927 – August 15, 2005) was an American composer of jazz and classical music. Biography Trained as a classical and jazz percussionist, Zindars went on to compose works for both orchestra and piano. Many of his jazz ...

) – 5:52 #"

Nancy (With the Laughing Face) "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" is a song composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Phil Silvers, called, originally, "Bessie (With The Laughing Face)". It was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1944. Many, perhaps most, people—i ...

" (

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and car ...

) – 4:08 #"Know What I Mean?" (Re-take 7) (Evans) – 4:54 #"Who Cares?" (Take 4) – 5:55 #"Know What I Mean?" (Take 12) – 7:01 ''Tracks 2-3, 7, 9-10 recorded on January 27, 1961; tracks 5 & 6 on February 21; tracks 1, 4 & 8 recorded on March 13, 1961, all at

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

, New York City.''

Personnel

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", wh ...

- alto saxophone *

- piano *

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet througho ...

- acoustic bass *

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

- drums

Production staff

*Bill Stoddard - Recording Engineer *Ken Deardoff - album design

References

1962 albums Bill Evans albums Cannonball Adderley albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Riverside Records albums Original Jazz Classics albums {{1960s-jazz-album-stub