by Richard S. GinellThis 1990 session found Nat Adderley looking backwards, entering a New York studio with a quintet of the same proportions as Cannonball Adderley's famous groups, some alumni in the rhythm section (Walter Booker on bass, Jimmy Cobb on drums), and straight-and-narrow hard bop on the menu. But Nat is not the crisp, confident cornetist of old; he sounds a bit lost on muted horn in an extended stretch of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and sputters on some other tracks, occasionally mustering enough of his optimistic, upward-looking phrasing to give his work a signature. Altoist Vincent Herring has a more forceful presence on the front line, his raw, hard tone and rhythmic sense not resembling Cannonball's in the least, while Rob Bargad offers competent mainstream piano. As a composer, Adderley chips in two worthy pieces; "Talkin' About You, Cannon" is a leisurely gospel-soul-jazz drenched thing, and "Plum Street" is an energetic bopper. The veterans in the rhythm section are just fine -- no frills, nothing fancy, qualities that defined Nat's music at the time.