Art Pepper

Art Pepper is one of those guys you can count on, if you are holding one of his recordings in one of the few remaining jazz stores and not, say, leaving something valuable where he could get at it.  Pepper is a study in genius, psychological dysfunction, and heroin.  It may be one of the most insidious things about the fine white powder that it didn't stop someone like Pepper from producing exquisite music. 

I went back this evening to his Village Vanguard recordings.  It is a fine collection if you want to get to know Art Pepper.  There is a lot of his voice introducing the sets.  If you have ever known someone who is always on the edge, psychologically, you will recognize the tone when he speaks.  He lets the audience know that they are recording a classic. 

Anyway, Pepper produced a lot of essential bop when he wasn't in the slammer or too high to play.  Even when he was too high to play, he could still play.   I am putting some Pepper on my L365 station.  'Caravan' can be found on his Complete Village Vanguard Sessions, disc 2.  Here is the lineup:

• Bass – George Mraz
• Drums – Elvin Jones
• Piano – George Cables
• Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Art Pepper

I am also including 'Anthropology', which opens with a very special dialogue between Pepper and Mraz on bass.  This is an essential live jazz recording.  There are nine discs in the box set, covering several sets over three days.  I would also note the presence of Elvin Jones, who I have been pushing lately on my L365 station.  This Pepper box is a great example of his work as a sideman.  

Big Bands, Small Combos, & Duets

The difference between big band jazz and the small combo (3 to 9 musicians) is analogous to the difference between a novel and a short story. In the former, the larger picture usually subsumes most of the individual elements, with the exception of a central character or two. The main character watches the rise and fall of a Louisiana tyrant who pulls all the other characters into orbit around him. The jazz version has a solo horn play against the theme provided by an orchestra. Here is an example: Art Pepper playing against an orchestra:

Art Pepper/Our Song/Winter Moon

In the latter, a handful of characters come into focus against one another. A lonely furniture salesman negotiates the transfer of an antique table from a wife, only to find out that a mistress wants it. In the jazz version, the main horn establishes himself against the rhythm section, and then encounters the other instruments one at a time. Listen to this cut by the Jimmy Giuffre 3:

The Jimmy Giuffre 3/Two Kinds of Blues/Hollywood and Newport Live

If my analogy is any good, let me propose that the jazz duet and solo album is analogous to poetry. Everything is cut down to the bare skeleton of story. Each word, or note, has to stand for a vast realm of things. Here is a cut from Mal Waldron's last album, a duet with Avant Guard sax man Archie Shepp. This is jazz distilled into its essence. Be amazed.

Archie Shepp & Mel Waldron/Everything Happens to Me/Left Alone Revisited

This was Waldron's final tribute to Billy Holiday. Sadness and beauty inscribed with brilliant economy.

Hot Pepper @ The Village Vanguard

It might be the most famous venue in modern Jazz. John Coltrane recorded his most important live album there, as did Bill Evans. NPR has a concert series based at the Vanguard. I am behind on my listening, but they have a recent concert featuring Cedar Walton. That is something to look forward to.

Some time ago I acquired Art Pepper: The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions. It's pricey to be sure, at over a hundred bucks. But when you have it, you have Pepper. Art Pepper was a mess. His recording career was punctuated by about four prison terms, all due to his heroin addiction. Photos of Pepper at this date remind me of Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows.

Still, Pepper managed to leave behind a series of immortal recordings. The Vanguard recordings give you nine discs of everything that Pepper put into the microphones during his stint at the club. That means a lot of versions of the same numbers.

It also means you get to hear his voice, a lot, as he schmoozes the crowd. Pepper clearly wanted the crowd to know that they were present for something important. They were.

Backing Pepper George Cables played piano, George Mraz played bass, and Elvin Jones was on drums. They were up to the occasion. Here is a sample from the nine disc collection:

Art Pepper/Live at the Vanguard/Live at the Village Vanguard

This one will make you glad to be alive. Seek out the rest of the recordings, and shell out some dough. One of these days you will raise a glass to me.