5. Cannonball Adderley Quintet: “Dat Dere” (Them Dirty Blues; Riverside, 1960)

“Dat Dere” was a Bobby Timmons composition, and he debuted it here, backing the Adderley brothers on a feverishly soulful session. (Also on hand were second pianist Barry Harris, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes). It feels like it was made for Cannonball and his crew, and the altoist knows it. His opening solo mines every vein of what he does best: bebop runs, blues feeling, melodic inventions, unexpected-but-apropos shifts in mood and attack. Props to Nat as well, who does equally great—if not better—work on the tune, and to Timmons, whose chops are beyond question once he gets into percussive gear. “Dat Dere” might well be the desert-island Adderley recording.