Search - Artist/Band: Art Pepper

• Name: Art Pepper
• Birthday: 09/01/1925
• Birth Place: Gardena, CA
• Died: 06/01/1982
• Decades Active: 1940,1950,1960,1970,1980
• Genre: Jazz
• Styles: Bop, Cool, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, West Coast Jazz, Mainstream Jazz
• Moods: Exuberant, Freewheeling, Organic, Passionate, Playful, Refined/Mannered, Sophisticated, Amiable/Good-Natured, Carefree, Confident, Dramatic, Earnest, Earthy, Energetic, Literate, Lively, Precious, Rambunctious, Rousing, Searching, Sentimental, Sprawling, Stately, Stylish, Thoughtful, Warm, Witty, Wry

Title	Release
Jazz Giants: Super Best	12/17/2008
Modern Jazz W	01/13/2008
Unreleased Art, Vol. 1: The Complete Abashiri Concert - November 22, 1981	2007
Unreleased Art, Vol. II: The Last Great Concert (May 30, 1982 - Kool Jazz Festival)	2007
Cherokey	06/26/2006
Memories of April	06/26/2006
My Rory	06/26/2006
Summer Knows	06/26/2006
Over the Rainbow	06/13/2006
Complete Free Wheeling Sessions	03/27/2006
Complete TV Studio Recordings	09/27/2005
Meets the Canadian Rhythm Section	02/28/2005
Pasadena Concert	01/04/2005
Mosaic Select: Art Pepper WA	2005
The Art of Pepper: Complete Omega Sessions Master Takes	2005
The Best of Art Pepper [Contemporary]	11/09/2004
Complete Surf Club Sessions	08/03/2004
I Want to Be Happy	05/25/2004
Pepper Jam	04/26/2004
I Want to Be Happy/Short Stop	03/15/2004
Too Young	09/23/2003
Chili Pepper	11/27/2002
Complete Discovery-Savoy Master Takes	11/26/2002
Complete 1947-1951 Small Group Studio Recordings	10/29/2002
Art Standards	07/30/2002
Timeless	06/04/2002
Complete on Savoy	03/20/2002
The Intimate Art Pepper	10/10/2000
Modern Art	06/19/2000
Les Incontournables	01/04/2000
Gettin' Together [Compilation] WA	12/07/1999
The Discovery Sessions	09/21/1999
Art Pepper [Conte]	11/21/1998
Pepper Returns	09/15/1998
The Young Art Pepper with Stan Kenton & Shorty Rogers WA	09/15/1998
Ballads by Four	02/25/1998
Jazz Profile	1997
Straight Life [Compilation] WA	1996
The Best of Art Pepper [Pacific Jazz] WA	06/15/1993
Art Pepper with Warne Marsh WA	10/25/1990
Goin' Home	05/11/1982
Goin' Home [Bonus Tracks]	05/11/1982
Tête-à-Tête	05/11/1982
Art 'N' Zoot	09/27/1981
Arthur's Blues	1981
One September Afternoon WA	09/05/1980
Winter Moon WA	09/03/1980
Straight Life	09/21/1979
New York Album	02/23/1979
So in Love WA	02/23/1979
Art Pepper Today	12/01/1978
Birds and Ballads	12/01/1978
Among Friends	09/02/1978
More for Les: At the Village Vanguard, Vol. 4 [7 Tracks] WA	07/28/1977
No Limit	03/26/1977
The Trip	09/15/1976
Living Legend	08/09/1975
The Way It Was	1972
Intensity	11/23/1960
Smack Up	10/24/1960
Gettin' Together	02/29/1960
Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics WA	03/14/1959
Two Altos	1959
Mucho Calor	04/24/1958
The Art of Pepper, Vol. 3 WA	04/01/1957
Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section WA	01/19/1957
Show Time	01/18/1957
The Art of Pepper [Aladdin Japan]	1957
Modern Art: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings, Vol. 2 WA	12/28/1956
The Artistry of Pepper	12/11/1956
The Art of the Ballad	11/26/1956
The Art Pepper Quartet WA	11/25/1956
Art Pepper Quartet: Volume 1	03/30/1953
Surf Ride WA	02/07/1952
Those Kenton Days	1940

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