Art Pepper
Albums
![Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics [SACD]](/cache/JHS/g2/130x130_g20052npsb2.jpg)
Another outstanding Art Pepper late '50s album, although in a different style. Pepper was backed by an 11-piece orchestra and applied his torrid solos to [more]
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Fine date; Hank Jones steps out on piano. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
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![Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section [Hybrid SACD]](/cache/JHS/f5/130x130_f56386uy58r.jpg)
By the time of this, Art Pepper's tenth recording as a leader, he was making his individual voice on the alto saxophone leave the cozy confines of his [more]
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- List Price: $19.98
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![Gettin' Together! [SACD]](/cache/JHS/g5/130x130_g56932abwgi.jpg)
As a sort of follow-up to Art Pepper's matchup with Miles Davis' trio in the 1957 classic Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Pepper utilizes Davis' sidemen on this 1960 [more]
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Lone Hill Jazz presents a package of vintage cool West Coast jazz, bringing to light 16 excellent tracks that have all but fallen through the cracks over the [more]
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Essential Standards highlights OJC/Contemporary/Galaxy recordings made over the course of three decades by alto saxophonist Art Pepper. The majority of these ten tracks feature [more]
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Appearances
Bob Graettinger was arguably the most radical arranger to ever work in jazz. In fact, it is doubtful if any other big-band leader other than Stan [more]
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This is not and cannot be the Complete Cole Porter Songbooks, but it's a marvelous collection of 48 timeless jazz interpretations drawn from the Verve catalog. [more]
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One of the giants of American popular song gets his due with this three-disc Verve box, comprising a trio of separately released compilations. Though Mercer's [more]
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While most of Stan Kenton's recordings in the 1950s tend to be complex and sometimes bombastic, his versions of standards could often be sentimental and very melodic. This LP [more]
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![Best of Stan Kenton [Capitol]](/cache/JHS/d1/130x130_on-sale_d17517dv6v1.png)
Between 1943-1961, the Stan Kenton Orchestra paved the way for a progressive style of big-band jazz that marked a departure from previous groups. For many, they epitomized [more]
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During 1950-51, Stan Kenton did the unthinkable by putting together a 40-piece orchestra that included a full string section. The music was quite uncommercial, complex, and [more]
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![Rhapsody in Blue [Blue Note]](/cache/JHS/d4/130x130_on-sale_d40978c7jl6.png)
This CD sampler has 18 songs written by the Gershwins and recorded during a 24-year period for labels now owned by the Blue Note family. Featured are the Billy May [more]
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June Christy originally came to fame with Stan Kenton's Orchestra in the mid-1940s. Her success with such cheerful numbers as Tampico and Shoo-Fly Pie [more]
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Hollywood Swing & Jazz: Hot Numbers from MGM, Warner Brothers & RKO Films collects '30s and '40s film music from three of Hollywood's biggest studios. Louis Armstrong's "Jeepers Creepers," Harry James & His Orchestra's
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Unusual team; Giuffre (sax) fits in effectively. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
- List Price: $13.98
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Biography
- Born Sep 1st 1925 in Gardena, CA
- Died Jun 1st 1982 in Panorama City, CA
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 (along with Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond) 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.
After a brief stint with Gus Arnheim, Pepper played with mostly black groups on Central Avenue in Los Angeles. He spent a little time in the Benny Carter and Stan Kenton orchestras before serving time in the military (1944-1946). Some of Pepper's happiest days were during his years with Stan Kenton (1947-1952), although he became a heroin addict in that period. The 1950s found the altoist recording frequently both as a leader and a sideman, resulting in at least two classics (Plays Modern Jazz Classics and Meets the Rhythm Section), but he also spent two periods in jail due to drug offenses during 1953-1956. Pepper was in top form during his Contemporary recordings of 1957-1960, but the first half of his career ended abruptly with long prison sentences that dominated the 1960s. His occasional gigs between jail terms found him adopting a harder tone influenced by John Coltrane that disturbed some of his longtime followers. He recorded with Buddy Rich in 1968 before getting seriously ill and rehabilitating at Synanon (1969-1971). 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. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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