ART PEPPER [Arthur Edward Pepper Jr.] 1925-1982
WORK IN PROGRESS...
The content of this blog has taken many years to be collected, it will take some more time to be on the Web... It will also need your help to be completed and maintened up to date. Don't hesitate to post comments if any error appears to you.
As an Art Pepper fan, you have to visit Laurie Pepper's blog. She'll tell you everything about the film she's producing on Art's life. You'll find there also, on her label "Widow's Taste", a new CD collection of unissued Art Pepper performances. Through Laurie's blog, Art lives HERE (www.straightlife.org)
A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Despite a remarkably colorful and difficult life, Art Pepper was quite consistent in the recording studios; virtually every recording he made is well worth getting. In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker. During his last years, Pepper seemed to put all of his life's experiences into his music and he played with startling emotional intensity.
There was nothing halfway about Art Pepper, which was both a blessing for his music and a significant burden for his day-to-day life. He claimed to have never studied or practiced his horn; disdained inevitable comparisons with Charlie Parker yet embraced the later expressive discoveries of John Coltrane in advance of most of the jazz world; and became labeled an icon of a supposedly cool jazz scene by reason of geography while in fact playing some of the most intense and boiling music of anyone in his lifetime. And, thanks to a drug habit that forced his absence from the music business, he managed to record only twice between 1961 and 1975.
Pepper was undeniably a West Coast jazzman. As a native of Gardena, California, he had more claim to the label than many Eastern and Midwest players who came to the Los Angeles area and played in the less overtly emotional manner that came to define the style. His solo approach was always passionate, from early recordings made with Stan Kenton’s orchestra during his years with the band and in jam sessions on L.A.’s Central Avenue. Records and club work with Shorty Rogers and his Giants provided more room for his solo skills, and by 1952 he began cutting more intimate and open quartet and quintet sessions under his own name. By this time he had already developed a dependence on alcohol, pills, and heroin that led to an erratic lifestyle and, in 1952 the first of several arrests and incarcerations. For the remainder of the decade, Pepper alternated stretches in what he would later refer to as "la pinta" (the joint) with bursts of recording activity. Two of these latter occasions found him teaming productively with Miles Davis’s rhythm sections of the time; he would always catch the appearances of the Davis band in Los Angeles, particularly for the transcendent tenor solos of the man he came to admire greatly, John Coltrane.
While Coltrane’s example moved Pepper to become even more direct and searing in his own improvisations, documentation of this evolution is scarce. Yet another arrest in 1961 and the subsequent sentence to San Quentin effectively ended Pepper’s career for 15 years. There was a brief stint playing tenor in the Buddy Rich big band in 1968, and a stay in the Synanon drug facility at around that time; but Pepper did not sufficiently control his demons for the purpose of putting his career on track until the mid-Seventies.
Art Pepper began his serious comeback in 1975 and the unthinkable happened. Under the guidance and inspiration of his wife Laurie, Pepper not only recovered his former form but topped himself with intense solos that were quite unique; he also enjoyed occasionally playing clarinet. His recordings for Contemporary and Galaxy rank with the greatest work of his career. Pepper's autobiography Straight Life (written with his wife) is a brutally honest book that details his sometimes horrifying life. When Art Pepper died at the age of 56, he had attained his goal of becoming the world's great altoist.
There was nothing halfway about Art Pepper, which was both a blessing for his music and a significant burden for his day-to-day life. He claimed to have never studied or practiced his horn; disdained inevitable comparisons with Charlie Parker yet embraced the later expressive discoveries of John Coltrane in advance of most of the jazz world; and became labeled an icon of a supposedly cool jazz scene by reason of geography while in fact playing some of the most intense and boiling music of anyone in his lifetime. And, thanks to a drug habit that forced his absence from the music business, he managed to record only twice between 1961 and 1975.
Pepper was undeniably a West Coast jazzman. As a native of Gardena, California, he had more claim to the label than many Eastern and Midwest players who came to the Los Angeles area and played in the less overtly emotional manner that came to define the style. His solo approach was always passionate, from early recordings made with Stan Kenton’s orchestra during his years with the band and in jam sessions on L.A.’s Central Avenue. Records and club work with Shorty Rogers and his Giants provided more room for his solo skills, and by 1952 he began cutting more intimate and open quartet and quintet sessions under his own name. By this time he had already developed a dependence on alcohol, pills, and heroin that led to an erratic lifestyle and, in 1952 the first of several arrests and incarcerations. For the remainder of the decade, Pepper alternated stretches in what he would later refer to as "la pinta" (the joint) with bursts of recording activity. Two of these latter occasions found him teaming productively with Miles Davis’s rhythm sections of the time; he would always catch the appearances of the Davis band in Los Angeles, particularly for the transcendent tenor solos of the man he came to admire greatly, John Coltrane.
While Coltrane’s example moved Pepper to become even more direct and searing in his own improvisations, documentation of this evolution is scarce. Yet another arrest in 1961 and the subsequent sentence to San Quentin effectively ended Pepper’s career for 15 years. There was a brief stint playing tenor in the Buddy Rich big band in 1968, and a stay in the Synanon drug facility at around that time; but Pepper did not sufficiently control his demons for the purpose of putting his career on track until the mid-Seventies.
Art Pepper began his serious comeback in 1975 and the unthinkable happened. Under the guidance and inspiration of his wife Laurie, Pepper not only recovered his former form but topped himself with intense solos that were quite unique; he also enjoyed occasionally playing clarinet. His recordings for Contemporary and Galaxy rank with the greatest work of his career. Pepper's autobiography Straight Life (written with his wife) is a brutally honest book that details his sometimes horrifying life. When Art Pepper died at the age of 56, he had attained his goal of becoming the world's great altoist.
FINAL ART (TOFREC (JAP)
Now "officially" available on Laurie Pepper's "Widow's Taste" label...
Art Pepper (as, cl) Roger Kellaway (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
LA, May 30, 1982: Landscape, Ophelia, Mambo Koyama, Over the Rainbow, When You're Smiling
GOIN' HOME : ART PEPPER & GEORGE CABLES (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (cl) George Cables (p)
Berkeley, CA, April 13 & 14, 1982: Goin' Home, In a Mellow Tone, Lover Man
Art Pepper (as), Samba Mom-Mom, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin', Billie's Bounce, The Sweetest Sounds
Art Pepper (as, cl), Isn't She Lovely
TETE A TETE : ART PEPPER & GEORGE CABLES (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p)
Berkeley, CA, April 13 & 14, 1982: Over the Rainbow, Tete-a-Tete, Down That Dream, Body and Soul, The Way You Look Tonight, 'Round About Midnight
Berkeley, CA, May 11, 1982: You Go to My Head
WEST COAST : JOE FARRELL & ART PEPPER (WEST WIND)
Art Pepper (as) Joe Farrell (ts) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) John Dentz (d)
LA, March 23, 1982: Sweet Lorraine, Who Can I Turn to?
#part of "Darn that Dream"
DARN THAT DREAM : JOE FARRELL & ART PEPPER (REAL TIME)
Art Pepper (as) Joe Farrell (ts) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) John Dentz (d)
LA, March 23, 1982: Section-8 Blues, Sweet Lorraine, Mode for Joe, Darn That Dream, Who Can I Turn to?
RETURN TO ALTO ACRES : RICHIE COLE (PALO ALTO JAZZ)
Art Pepper (as, cl) Richie Cole (as, brs) Roger Kellaway (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Billy Higgins (d)
LA, February 16, 1982: Return to Alto Acres, The Things We Did Last Summer, Art's Opus #2, A&R, Palo Alto Blues, Broadway
MISTLETOE MAGIC (VA. PALO ALTO JAZZ)
Art Pepper (as, cl) Richie Cole (as, brs) Roger Kellaway (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Billy Higgins (d)
LA, February 16, 1982: Sleigh Ride
HIGH JINGO : LEE KONITZ (ATLAS (JAP)
Lee Konitz (as) Art Pepper (as, cl) Michael Lang (p) Bob Magnusson (b) John Dentz (d)
LA, January 18 & 19, 1982: 'S Wonderful, Whims of Chambers, A Minor Blues in F, This Can't Be Love, The Shadow of Your Smile, Anniversary Song, Cherokee
IT HAPPENED IN PESCARA (VA. PHILOLOGY (ITALY)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Festival di Pescara", Pescara, Italy, December 7, 1981: Cherokee
ART PEPPER : UNREALISED ART, VOL 1 (WIDOW'S TASTE)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Japan, Abashiri, November 22, 1981: Landscape, Besame Mucho, Red Car, Goodbye, Straight Life, Road waltz, For Freddie (part 1), For Freddie (part 2), Body and Soul, Talk, Rhythm-a-Ning, Blies Encore (incomplete).
ART 'N' ZOOT (PABLO)
Art Pepper (as, ts) Zoot Sims (ts) Victor Feldman (p) Ray Brown (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Royce Hall UCLA September 27, 1981: Wee (Allen's Alley), Breakdown Blues
Omit Sims: Over The Rainbow
ARTHUR'S BLUES (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (cl) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 15, 1981: Donna Lee, Road Waltz, For Freddie, But Beautiful, Arthur's Blues
ROADGAME. THE MAIDEN VOYAGE, VOL 1 (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (cl) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 15, 1981: When You're Smiling & Art Pepper (as): Everything Happens to Me, Road Waltz, Roadgame
ART LIVE. THE MAIDEN VOYAGE, VOL 2 (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 13, 1981: Thank You Blues
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 15, 1981: Allen's Alley, Samba Mom-Mom
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p)
But Beautiful
APQ. THE MAIDEN VOYAGE, VOL 3 (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 13, 1981: What's New?, Valse Triste, Landscape (edited ver.)
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 15, 1981: Mambo Koyama
ART PEPPER WITH DUKE JORDAN IN COPENHAGEN (TOFREC (JAP)
Art Pepper (as, cl) Duke Jordan (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Cafe Montmartre'', Jazzhus, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 3, 1981: Blues Montmartre, What Is This Thing Called Love?, Over the Rainbow, Caravan, Rhythm-a-Ning, You Go to My Head, Besame Mucho, Cherokee, Radio Blues, Good Bait, All the Things You Are
HOLLYWOOD JAM : SHELLY MANNE (ATLAS (JAP)
Bill Watrous (tb) Art Pepper (as) Bob Cooper (ts) Pete Jolly (p) Monty Budwig (b) Shelly Manne (d)
Hollywood, CA, May 4, 1981: Just Friends, These Foolish Things, Hollywood Jam Blues, Lover Come Back to Me, Limehouse Blues, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
MISTRAL : FREDDIE HUBBARD (EAST WORLD JAZZ (JAP)
Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh) Phil Ranelin (tb) Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Peter Wolf (syn) Roland Bautista (g) Stanley Clarke (b) Peter Erskine (d) Paulinho DaCosta (per)
LA, September 15-18, 1980: Sunshine Lady, Eclipse, Blue Nights, Now I've Found Love, I Love You, Bring It Back Home
ONE SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Stanley Cowell (p) Howard Roberts (g) Cecil McBee (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Berkeley, CA, September 5, 1980: Mr. Big Falls His J.G. Hand & omit Roberts: Close to You Alone, There Will Never Be Another You, Melolev, Goodbye Again!
Howard Roberts (g) replaces Cowell
Brazil
WINTER MOON (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as, cl) Stanley Cowell (p) Howard Roberts (g) Cecil McBee (b) Carl Burnett (d) & strings
Berkeley, CA, September 3 & 4, 1980: Our Song, Here's That Rainy Day, That's Love, Winter Moon, When the Sun Comes Out, Blues in the Night, The Prisoner
ATLAS BLUES "BLOW! AND BALLADE : SONNY STITT (ATLAS (JAP)
Sonny Stitt (as) Art Pepper (as, ts) Russ Freeman (p) John Hard (b) Carl Burnett (d)
LA, July 30 & 31, 1980: Atlas Blues, Lester Leaps in, Autumn in New York, My Funny Valentine, Lover Man, Imagination
GROOVIN' HIGH : SONNY STITT (ATLAS (JAP)
Art Pepper, Sonny Stitt (as) Lou Levy (p) Chuck DeMonica (b) Carl Burnett (d)
LA, July 28 & 29, 1980: Scrapple from the Apple, Wee, Bernie's Tune, How High the Moon, Walkin', Groovin' High
TRUE BLUES : THE MILCHO LEVIEV QUARTET (MOLE JAZZ LP)
Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Ronnie Scott's Club'', London, England, June 28 & 29, 1980: True Blues, Goodbye, Y.I. Blues, Straight Life
BLUES FOR THE FISHERMAN : THE MILCHO LEVIEV QUARTET (MOLE JAZZ LP)
Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Ronnie Scott's Club'', London, England, June 28 & 29, 1980: Make a List Make a Wish, Sad a Little Bit, Ophelia, Blues for the Fisherman
BLUES FOR THE FISHERMAN (MOLE JAZZ CD)
Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Ronnie Scott's Club'', London, England, June 28 & 29, 1980: Same as the 2 MOLE JAZZ Lp's but omit: Y.I. Blues.
STRIKE UP THE BAND : PETE JOLLY (ATLAS (JAP)
Art Pepper (as) Pete Jolly (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Roy McCurdy (d)
LA, February 26 & 27, 1980: Strike Up the Band, You Go to My Head, I Surrender Dear, Y.I. Blues, Night and Day, Everything Happens to Me, Out of Nowhere
ANGEL WINGS : JACK SHELDON (ATLAS)
Jack Sheldon (tp) Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
LA, February 21 & 22, 1980: Angel Wings, Softly As in a Morning Sunrise, You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to, Jack's Blues, Broadway, Historia de un Amor, Minority
STRAIGHT LIFE (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Tommy Flanagan (p) Red Mitchell (b) Billy Higgins (d) Kenneth Nash (per)
Berkeley, CA, September 21, 1979: Make a List & omit Nash: Surf Ride, Nature Boy, Straight Life, September Song
#also issued on Fantasy OJC 475.
STRAIGHT LIFE (FANTASY)
Art Pepper (as) Tommy Flanagan (p) Red Mitchell (b) Billy Higgins (d) Kenneth Nash (per)
Berkeley, CA, September 21, 1979: Long Ago and Far Away
#reissue of Galaxy GXY 5127 + 1 bonus track.
AD LIB : KEI ISHIGURO (VICTOR (JAP)
Art Pepper (as) Hiromasa Suzuki (el-p) Tsunehide Matsuki (el-g) Akira Okazawa (el-b) Shuichi Murakami (d) Kei Ishiguro (vo)
JVC Studios, Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 1979: Kurayami No Love Song, Konban Ohima
LANDSCAPE. ART PEPPER LIVE IN TOKYO '79 (JVC)
Art Pepper (as, cl) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Billy Higgins (d)
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 16 & 23, 1979: True Blues, Sometime, Landscape, Avalon, Over the Rainbow, Straight Life.
LANDSCAPE (FANTASY)
Art Pepper (as, cl) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Billy Higgins (d)
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 16, 1979: Mambo de la Pinta
#reissue of Galaxy GXY 5128 + 1 bonus track.
LANDSCAPE (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as, cl) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Billy Higgins (d)
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 16, 1979: True Blues, Avalon, Landscape, Sometime
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 1979: Over the Rainbow, Straight Life
BESAME MUCHO (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as, cl) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Billy Higgins (d)
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 16, 1979: The Trip, Red Car, Besame Mucho
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 1979: The Shadow of Your Smile, Mambo de la Pinta
VERY R. A. R. E. : ELVIN JONES (TRIO (JAP)
Art Pepper (as) Roland Hanna (p) Richard Davis (b) Elvin Jones (d)
LA, June 13, 14 & 20, 1979: Sweet Mama, Zange, Tin Tin Deo, The Witching Hour
STARDUST (ARTIST HOUSE)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Berkeley, CA, May 25 & 26, 1979: My Friend John (alt. take), Tin Tin Deo, Stardust (alt. take)
Art Pepper (cl) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d)
In a Mellow Tone
ARTWORKS (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Berkeley, CA, May 25 & 26, 1979: Blues for Blanche (alt. take), Donna Lee, Desafinado
Art Pepper (cl) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d): Anthropology
Art Pepper (as): Body and Soul, You Go to My Head
FUNK'N FUN : BILL WATROUS (ATLAS)
Bill Watrous (tb) Art Pepper (as) Russ Freeman (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Berkeley, CA, March 26 & 27, 1979: Just Friends, Begin the Beguine, For Art's Sake, Funny Blues, Angel Eyes, P. Town
ART PEPPER : SIDEMAN (ATLAS)
Bill Watrous (tb) Art Pepper (as) Russ Freeman (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Carl Burnett (d)
Berkeley, CA, March 26 & 27, 1979: Funny Blues (alt. take), Angel Eyes (alt. take)
Jack Sheldon (tp) Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Tony Dumas (b) Carl Burnett (d)
LA, February 21 & 22, 1980: You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to (alt. take), Broadway (alt. take)
Art Pepper (as) Pete Jolly (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Roy McCurdy (d)
LA, February 26 & 27, 1980: Y.I. Blues (alt. take)
Bill Watrous (tb) Art Pepper (as) Bob Cooper (ts) Pete Jolly (p) Monty Budwig (b) Shelly Manne (d)
Hollywood, CA, May 4, 1981: I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (alt. take)
Lee Konitz (as) Art Pepper (as, cl) Michael Lang (p) Bob Magnusson (b) John Dentz (d)
LA, January 18 & 19, 1982: 'S Wonderful (alt. take)
THE COMPLETE GALAXY RECORDINGS (GALAXY, FANTASY) 16 CD BOX
Art Pepper (as) Hank Jones (p) Ron Carter (b) Al Foster (d)
Berkeley, CA, February 23, 1979: Yesterdays
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Berkeley, CA, May 25 & 26, 1979: Blues for Blanche (alt. take B), Donna Lee (alt. take)
Landscape, My Friend John
Art Pepper (as, cl) George Cables (p) Tony Dumas (b) Billy Higgins (d)
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 16, 1979: Mambo de la Pinta, Over the Rainbow, Mambo Koyama, Straight Life
"Yubin Chokin Hall'', Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 1979: True Blues, Avalon, Landscape, Sometime, Red Car, Mambo Koyama, Besame Mucho
Art Pepper (as)
Berkeley, CA, August 21, 1979: But Beautiful, When You're Smiling
Art Pepper (as) Tommy Flanagan (p) Red Mitchell (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Berkeley, CA, September 21, 1979: Nature Boy (alt. take)
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) David Williams (b) Carl Burnett (d)
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 13, 1981: Landscape (unedited ver.), Donna Lee
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 14, 1981: Road Waltz, For Freddie, But Beautiful, Mambo Koyama, Landscape
"Maiden Voyage'', LA, August 15, 1981: For Freddie, Arthur's Blues, These Foolish Things (alt. take), Over the Rainbow (alt. take), I Love You, Pepper Pot
NEW YORK ALBUM (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Hank Jones (p) Ron Carter (b) Al Foster (d)
Berkeley, CA, February 23, 1979: Straight No Chaser (alt. take), A Night in Tunisia, My Friend John
Art Pepper (as) Ron Carter (b): Duo Blues
Art Pepper (as) George Cables (p) Charlie Haden (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Berkeley, CA, May 26, 1979: Lover Man
HEART BEAT : ALAN BROADBENT (CAPITOL)
Art Pepper (as) Alan Broadbent (p, el-p) orchestra
LA, 1979: On the Road, Three Americans, Jack's Theme, Jam, Neal's Theme, 901
FIVE BIRDS AND A MONK (VA. GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Stanley Cowell (p) Cecil McBee (b) Roy Haynes (d)
December 1 & 2, 1978: Yardbird Suite
BALLADS BY FOUR (VA. GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Stanley Cowell (p) Cecil McBee (b) Roy Haynes (d)
December 1 & 2, 1978: Over the Rainbow
TODAY (GALAXY)
Art Pepper (as) Stanley Cowell (p) Cecil McBee (b) Roy Haynes (d) Kenneth Nash (cga)
Berkeley, CA, December 1 & 2, 1978: Mambo Koyama & omit Nash: Miss Who?, Lover Come Back to Me, Patricia, These Foolish Things, Chris's Blues
#also issued on Fantasy OJC 474.
TODAY (FANTASY)
Art Pepper (as) Stanley Cowell (p) Cecil McBee (b) Roy Haynes (d) Kenneth Nash (cga)
Berkeley, CA, December 1 & 2, 1978: These Foolish Things (alt. take)
#reissue of Galaxy GXY 5119 + 1 bonus track.
AMONG FRIENDS (INTERPLAY)
Art Pepper (as) Russ Freeman (p) Bob Mugnusson (b) Frank Butler (d)
LA, September 2, 1978: Among Friends, 'Round About Midnight, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, Blue Bossa, What Is This Thing Called Love?, What's New?, Besame Mucho, I'll Remember April
#also issued on Discovery DS 837.
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