The Black Messiah is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California in 1971 featuring performances by Adderley’s Quintet with Nat Adderley, George Duke, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest appearances by Airto Moreira, Mike Deasy, Ernie Watts, Alvin Batiste, and Buck Clarke. After many years of being out of print, The Black Messiah was reissued in 2014 by Real Gone Music; the new 2CD reissue included liner notes by music journalist/blogger Bill Kopp.
Tracks
1 Introduction 00:43
2 The Black Messiah (George Duke) 16:18
3 Monologue 02:33
4 Little Benny Hen (Mike Deasy) 04:11
5 Zanek (Mike Deasy) 05:11
6 Dr. Honouris Causa (Joe Zawinul) 14:47
7 The Chocolate Nuissance (Roy McCurdy; Nathan Adderley Sr) 08:33
8 Untitled (Airto Moreira) 06:15
9 The Steam Drill (Julian Adderley) 08:45
10 Eye Of The Cosmos (Ernie Watts) 04:53
11 Episode From The Music Came (Alvin Batiste) 02:42
12 Heritage (Duke Ellington) 04:36
13 Circumference (George Duke) 03:19
14 Pretty Paul (Julian Adderley) 02:48
15 The Scene (Nathan Adderley Sr; Joe Zawinul) 02:15
Musicians
| Bass | Walter Booker |
| Drums | Roy McCurdy |
| Percussion | Airto Moreira |
| Electric Piano | George Duke |
| Piano | George Duke |
| Sax | Cannonball Adderley |
Other Musicians
3 Monologue
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
4 Little Benny Hen
5 Zanek
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
7 The Chocolate Nuissance
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Congas | Buck Clarke |
8 Untitled
10 Eye Of The Cosmos
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
11 Episode From The Music Came
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Clarinet | Alvin Batiste |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
12 Heritage
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Clarinet | Alvin Batiste |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
| Vocals | Nat Adderley Jr |
13 Circumference
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Clarinet | Alvin Batiste |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
| Congas | Buck Clarke |
14 Pretty Paul
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Clarinet | Alvin Batiste |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
15 The Scene
| Guitar | Mike Deasy |
| Clarinet | Alvin Batiste |
| Sax | Ernie Watts |
| Congas | Buck Clarke |
Liner Notes
Producer – Cannonball Adderley, David Axelrod
Engineer (Recording) – Gene Hicks
Art Direction– John Hoernle
Design – Roy Kohara
Photography – James Lewis, Neil Zlozower, Todd Gray
Recorded live at “The Troubadour”, Hollywood
