Art Pepper

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Art Pepper
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    • Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982)

    alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active primarily in West Coast jazz, Pepper first came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known for his emotionally charged performances and several stylistic shifts throughout his career, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as having "attained his goal of becoming the world's greatest altoist" at the time of his death in 1982.[2]

    Early life

    Art Pepper was born in

    alcoholics, and when Pepper was still quite young, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother. He expressed early musical interest and talent, and he was given lessons. He began playing clarinet at the age of nine, switched to alto saxophone at 13,[4] and immediately began jamming on Central Avenue, the black nightclub district of Los Angeles
    .

    Career

    At the age of 17, he began playing professionally with Benny Carter and then became part of the Stan Kenton orchestra, touring with that band until he was drafted in 1943. After the war, he returned to Los Angeles, and joined the Kenton Innovations Orchestra.[4] By the 1950s, Pepper was recognized as one of the leading alto saxophonists in jazz, finishing second only to Charlie Parker as Best Alto Saxophonist in the DownBeat magazine Readers Poll of 1952. Along with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, and Shelly Manne, and perhaps due more to geography than playing style, Pepper is often associated with the musical movement known as West Coast jazz, as contrasted with the East Coast (or "hot") jazz of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Some of Pepper's best known albums from the 1950s are Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics, Gettin' Together, and Smack Up.[4] Other recordings from this time appear on The Aladdin Recordings (three volumes), The Early Show, The Late Show, Surf Ride, and Art Pepper with Warne Marsh (also issued as The Way It Was!), which features a session recorded with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh.

    His career was repeatedly interrupted by several prison stints stemming from his addiction to heroin,[4] but Pepper managed to have several productive "comebacks". Remarkably, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship throughout his career until his death in 1982.

    His last comeback saw Pepper, who had started his career in Stan Kenton's big band, becoming a member of Buddy Rich's Big Band from 1968 to 1969. After beginning methadone therapy in the mid-1970s, he toured Europe and Japan with his own groups and recorded many albums, mostly for Galaxy Records, a subsidiary of Fantasy Records., Pepper's later albums include Living Legend, Art Pepper Today, Among Friends, and Live in Japan.[4]

    Personal life

    Pepper lived for many years in the hills of

    San Quentin.[1] While in San Quentin, he played in an ensemble with saxophonist Frank Morgan.[5] In the late 1960s, Pepper spent time in Synanon
    , a rehabilitation program that turned out to be a cult.

    His

    documentary film Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor,[8] discussing his life and featuring interviews with both Art and his wife Laurie, as well as footage from a live performance in a Malibu jazz club. Laurie Pepper also released an interview to NPR
    .

    Pepper died of a stroke in Los Angeles on June 15, 1982, aged 56.[6][9] He is interred in the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood.

    Discography

    Stan Kenton, Eddie Safranski, Shelly Manne, Chico Alvarez, Ray Wetzel, Harry Betts, Bob Cooper, and Art Pepper (second from right), 1947 or 1948

    As leader

    As sideman

    Transcriptions

    Published transcriptions:

    Transcriptions available on the Internet:

    Bibliography

    A more extensive bibliography is issued by the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt

    References

    1. ^ a b Slonimsky, Nicolas; Theodore Baker (1992). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Eighth Edition. New York, New York: Schirmer Books.
    2. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Art Pepper Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016.
    3. ^ Dupuis, Robert. "Art Pepper." Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 18. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1997. 164-67. Print.
    4. ^
      ISBN 0-85112-580-8
      .
    5. ^ "Frank Morgan On Piano Jazz". Npr.org. May 30, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
    6. ^ a b Straight Life: The Story Of Art Pepper[permanent dead link] by Art Pepper and Laurie Pepper, Da Capo Press (reprint of original 1979 book published by Schirmer Books, a division of MacMillan Publishing).
    7. ^ English, T. J. (October 7, 2021). "Why Art Pepper's Straight Life Is Still the Most Harrowing Jazz Memoir Ever". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
    8. ^ Palmer, Robert (December 15, 1982). "Movie Review : Tales of Jazz Saxophonists". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
    9. ISBN 9780306809873. Retrieved July 30, 2017 – via Google Books.[permanent dead link
      ]

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Pepper.


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