The Black Messiah...and others yet to be reissued

Btw, EMI is in great debt with Cannonball Adderley's fans who are eagerly awaiting, for over two decades (!), the CD reissues of his great albums for Capitol Records. Among them, the fantastic 2-LP set "The Black Messiah" (cut live during engagement at The Troubador from August 3 to 9, 1971), "The Experience in E" (1970), and "The Happy People" (1972), an intoxicating Brazilian-oriented session thanx to the performances of Mayuto Correa, Flora Purim and, mainly, percussion genius Airto Moreira, who also sings in the title track (his composition "O Anatélio Caiu no Samba", aka "The Happy People", later re-recorded on his "I'm Fine, How Are You Album" album for Warner in 1977) and in a surprising version of Benito de Paula's "Ela". The tracklist also includes Milton Nascimento's "Maria Três Filhos."

Airto's strong association with Cannonball can also be heard in three albums recorded for Fantasy Records in 1975: "Phenix" (one of Adderley's masterpieces, already released on CD back in 1999) and two other great sessions yet to be reissued on compact-disc, "Big Man", and Cannonball's very last session, "Lovers..."

At least, one track from "Lovers", Hermeto Pascoal's "Nascente" is available on CD, thanks to myself. When producing the compilation "Brazilian Horizons" for Milestone/Fantasy in 1997, I have included "Nascente" in the tracklist.

Like I wrote in my liner notes: "Nascente is a track of historic value in many ways, aside from its musical quality. From Cannonball's last album ("Lovers..."), this Hermeto Pascoal song was Cannon's final recorded effort. Hermeto had attended the first session and came the following day with this gift, quickly arranged in a very loose way. An extravagant melody of unexpected contours and development, it includes superlative statements made over Alphonso Johnson's funky bass line."