Jazz Articles about Art Pepper

Art Pepper: Mosaic Select 15

by Jim Santella
March 15, 2005

Art Pepper Mosaic Select 15 Mosaic Records 2005

Featuring Art Pepper's 1956 and 1957 Aladdin sessions, which have been issued on The Return of Art Pepper (Jazz West), Collections (Intro), Modern Art (Blue Note), Just Friends (Pacific Jazz), Solo Flight (Pacific Jazz), The Art of Pepper (Omega) and The Art of the Art (Nadja), Mosaic's 3-CD boxed set portrays the alto saxophonist in familiar company, full of life and at his best. The collection ...

"Best of" Series, Round 2

by C. Michael Bailey
November 30, 2004

Perhaps inevitably, The Fantasy Jazz Empire is repackaging its extensive product yet again—and this is a good thing. It is collections exactly like these that I would suggest to novices who want exposure to certain artists or styles. The six releases below are just the more recent in this current release program (see Part 1 ). They also highlight the seemingly endless font of jazz available from Fantasy, representing the most important output of the artists featured. Art ...

Art Pepper: West Coastin'

by Nic Jones
October 28, 2004

The last article in this series discussed the most significant strand in the recording history of Sonny Criss , a musician who was unjustly neglected during his lifetime. By contrast, Art Pepper might have been overexposed during his. If so, then this was a process helped in no small part by his autobiography1 in which he candidly discloses what loathsome traits were to be found in his personality. None of these, however, have any bearing on his abilities as a ...

Art Pepper: Smack Up

by David Rickert
April 16, 2004

Art Pepper's reckless lifestyle tended to overshadow his superb musicianship, and the circumstances surrounding Smack Up are certainly no exception. Shortly after recording it in 1960, he spent three years in jail for heroin possession, and one can only wonder if the title of the record is a play on words. Nevertheless, Pepper is in good form, as he usually was despite his troubles, darting over the changes and stitching together sharp, boppish lines without hesitation. Featuring a crack rhythm ...

Art Pepper: Smack Up

by C. Michael Bailey
March 19, 2004

Art Pepper produced the greatest recordings of the so-called “first phase" of his career during periods of intense chaos. A case in point is Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, where the altoist--rusty from inactivity, angry because of the surprise recording session set up by his then-wife Diane, and very, very strung out--expelled an acknowledged masterpiece. The aptly named Smack Up was the penultimate recording to the better part of a decade of incarceration for the musician's well-known heroin addiction. ...

The Art Pepper Companion: Writings on a Jazz Original

by C. Michael Bailey
March 8, 2004

The Art Pepper Companion Todd Selbert Cooper Square Press ISBN: 0-08154-1967-0

The Art Pepper Companion: Writings on a Jazz Original is the most significant print media on the greatest alto saxophonist of the post Parker era published since Pepper's autobiography Straight Life was updated and published in 1994. It was assembled and edited by Todd Selbert, the keeper of the Art Pepper discographical information (also included in the autobiography). Selbert draws together periodical writing ...

Art Pepper: Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics

by C. Michael Bailey
January 17, 2003

Only a handful of jazz recordings can be described as truly classic. Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics is a member of that handful. Recorded between March and May 1959, + Eleven has the distinction of being excellent on multiple planes. One is Pepper himself. A journeyman multi-reedist who was already a veteran of big bands lead by Gus Arnheim, Benny Carter, and Stan Kenton, Pepper was reaching his first pinnacle as an artist when + Eleven was recorded. ...