Nat Adderley, Jr. spent 25 years as the Music Director for rhythm and blues singer Luther Vandross, but after Vandross passed away in 2005, Adderley, Jr., the son of trumpeter Nat Adderley and nephew of alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, returned to his roots as a jazz pianist, mixing hard bop with R&B.
In October 2025, Adderley released his first jazz album as a leader Took So Long. The album soared to the top of the JazzWeek charts, spending six weeks at Number 1. DownBeat Magazine’s Joshua Myers called it “a near perfect mixture of standard jazz tunes and popular musical mainstays.”
On September 13, at the Gia Maione Prima Foundation Studio Theatre, Adderley, Jr., will be performing selections from Took So Long. In addition to his original title tune, you’ll hear such songs as Bronislaw Kaper’s “Green Dolphin Street”, Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma”, Burton Lane’s “Old Devil Moon”, and “Superstar”, written by Leon Russell for The Carpenters, but memorably recorded by Luther Vandross.
In the DownBeat review, Joshua Myers reminded his readers that, “It is simply cool to hear once again how interpretations of sounds made famous by Stevie Wonder, The Stylistics, and Aretha Franklin beautifully coexist alongside those written by Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie. Masters of the piano format have gamely plumbed these associations before. But in the hands of Nat Adderley, Jr., we get yet another fresh look.”
Took So Long was selected as WBGO Radio’s “New Day, New Play” album in October 2025. The station’s morning host, Gary Walker, pointed out that, “There are reimagined standards, an original, and a fabulous recollection of his dear friend Luther Vandross on ‘Superstar’. It might have taken so long, but it has been well worth it.”
