31 october 1968 & ramsey lewis, cannonball adderley & lloyd mcneill @constitution hall

#OTD 31 October 1968 Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis and the Lloyd McNeill Jazz Group were in concert together at DAR Constitution Hall, the white-owned venue of the Daughters of the American Revolution (1776 D St, NW). There were two shows: 7:15pm and 9:30pm. For the first show there were ~500 in the audience and for the second show ~2,000.

The Lloyd McNeill Jazz Group opened the show. The trio was followed by Cannonball Adderley’s group, with Adderley on the tenor sax, Nat Adderley on coronet, Roy McCurdy on drums, and Joe Zawinol on piano. They played Zawinol’s “Mercy, Mercy,” “Walk Tall” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio, the top bill, closed the show. Lewis, on piano, was accompanied by Cleveland Eaton on bass and Maurice White on drums.

Cannonball Adderley had just been in DC on 12 October for a concert at the Byrd’s Nest.

Your comments are welcome below. Did you, family members or neighbors attend the concert? Do you have a program or ticket from the concert? Did you ever see any of the artists elsewhere in 1968? What did you think of Constitution Hall as a venue? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Poster courtesy of Andy Fairclough. I thank Andy for sharing a photograph of his cherished poster. Andy, a huge fan of the featured musicians, is a pianist/Hammond organist. The poster was designed and signed by McNeill and Lou Stovall.

John Seagraves, “Adderley Jazz Event Pure Melodic Joy,” Evening Star 1 November 1968.