REMEMBERING THE ADDERLEY BROTHERS AND MUSIC HISTORY

Being Sunday and a slow news weekend locally, the Lakeland Ledger is remembering jazz greats Nat and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, who on this day 50 years ago entered Cafe Bohemia in New York's Greenwich Village and into music history (NPR's Jazz Profiles has the date in early July).

Nat was born in Tampa; his brother in Tallahassee, where the family moved to teach at Florida A&M University. But there is a local angle to this story. Nat Adderley moved to Lakeland for the last 25 years of his life. He taught music theory at Florida Southern College until poor health caused by diabetes forced him into retirement. He died on January 2, 2000 at 68 years of age.

It's a great piece as one of a three story contribution. The other stories deal with the new Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, which is part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center arts program (and includes some conversation with Nat's son, a career musician based in the Big Apple), and the personal experience of Ledger photojournalist Rick Runion, whose former band FreeTime (he's no longer listed on the band's lineup) was invited to play with Nat Adderely at the Ybor City Jazz Festival in Tampa after hearing their first gig at Florida Southern's Child of the Sun jazz fest. Ledger music reviewer Bill Dean, who wrote the other pieces, also includes some suggested albums and reading material for those interested in learning --- and hearing --- more about the Adderley Brothers.