Way back in 1962, when the original vinyl version of this collection was released, Julian Adderley was king of the hill, the warm, witty, charmingly loquacious leader of perhaps the hottest jazz band in the land. It was at that particular point a sextet, but it had first burst upon the scene late in 1959 as the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, specializing in a soulful, joyously rhythmic brand of jazz that attracted and satisfied audiences on a thriving nightclub circuit that stretched across the country. –Orrin Keepnews