By Jeff Stockton
Jeff Stockton
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Joined AAJ in 2003

Jeff listens to as much recorded music as he can.

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In her liner notes to Volume IV of the Art History Project, Art Pepper's widow describes him as a self-hating, alcoholic sex addict who turned to heroin in order to suppress these tendencies. Second only to Charlie Parker in the DownBeat polls of the day, nobody played alto saxophone as smooth and cool as Art Pepper. Unreleased Art, a three-disc set comprised of two-thirds never-before released material, traces Pepper's life in music from his golden era in the '50s through his prison- interrupted discovery of John Coltrane in the '60s, and concludes with his final period, fresh out of rehab in the '70s and playing as if his life depended on it.

This was Pepper's reality, and the music on Disc Three, subtitled Consummate Art, is haunting, driving, drawn out and never stops swinging. It's this period that defines Pepper as a true artist, 20 years and a lifetime beyond the handsome and impossibly talented natural in place at the start of his career. An authoritative blues closes this set, but it's "Lost Life," an achingly beautiful but harrowing ballad that represents Pepper's raison d'être.

Pepper was such a masterful balladeer it made his transition to a Trane-inspired improviser—freer, wilder and angrier—as shocking as Bob Dylan going electric at Newport. Disc Two's Hard Art includes "So in Love," a standard that earns a lengthy interpretation, and "That Crazy Blues" and "Section D," two cuts that reach intense, squealing heights that mark Pepper's great leap forward.

Not that Pepper's '50s music is lacking. Done in the West Coast style, Disc One's Pure Art (Schrimer, 1979) features in-the-pocket drumming and lead horns darting around the piano-dominated rhythm. "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Begin the Beguine" are effortlessly cool and tenor man Warne Marsh is brought in for a bouncy "I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me" and a deconstruction of "What's New."

Laurie Pepper calls Unreleased Art Volume IV a companion piece to Straight Life, her collaborative biography of her husband. As aural autobiography, these three discs trace the evolution of a jazz genius who lived one hell of a life and who was never more profound and masterful than at the end.

Track listing: CD1: Art Pepper; Fascinatin' Rhythm; Patricia; Tickle Toe; Pepper Returns; Mambo de La Pinta; These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You); Cool Bunny; Besame Mucho; Art's Oregano; Diane; I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me; Straight Life; Everything Happens to Me; Nutmeg; What's New?; Begin the Beguine; CD2: Rehearsal; Track 2; So in Love; Talk; That Crazy Blues; D Section; Chelsea Bridge; CD3: Caravan; Lost Life; Landscape; Angel Wings; Historia de un Amor; Mambo Koyama; That's Love.

Personnel: Art Pepper: alto saxophone; Carl Perkins: piano (CD1); Ben Tucker: bass (CD1); Chuck Flores: drums (CD1); Jack Sheldon: trumpet (CD1); Russ Freeman: piano (CD1); Leory Vinegar: bass (CD1); Shelly Mann: drums (CD1); Bob Whitlock: bass (CD1); Bobby White: drums (CD1); Hampton Hawes: piano (CD1); Joe Mondragon: bass (CD1); Larry Bunker: drums (CD1); Gary Frommer: drums (CD1); Warne Marsh: tenor saxophone (CD1); Ronnie Bell: piano (CD1); Jack Montrose: tenor saxophone (CD1); Claude Williamson: piano (CD1); Monty Budwig: bass (CD1); Stan Kenton Innovative Orchestra (CD1); Frank Strazzeri: piano (CD2); Hersh Hammel: bass (CD2); Bill Goodwin: drums (CD2); Charles Owens: alto saxophone (CD2), flute (CD2), clarinet (CD2); Don Menza: tenor saxophone (CD2), flute (CD2); Pat LaBarbera: tenor saxophone (CD2), flute (CD2); John Laws: baritone saxophone (CD2), bass clarinet (CD2); Al Porcino: trumpet (CD2); Bill Prince: trumpet (CD2); Ken Faulk: trumpet (CD2); Dave Culp: trumpet (CD2); Jim Trimble: trombone (CD2); Rick Stepton: trombone (CD2); Peter Graves: trombone (CD2); Walt Namuth: guitar (CD2); Joe Azarello: piano (CD2); Gary Walters: bass (CD2); Buddy Rich: drums (CD2); Milcho Leviev: piano (CD3); Bob Magnuson: bass (CD3); Carl Burnett: drums (CD3); Smith Dobson: piano (CD3); Jim Nichols: bass (CD3); Brad Bihorn: drums (CD3); Stanley Cowell: piano (CD3); George Mraz: bass (CD3); Ben Riley: drums (CD3); Jack Sheldon: trumpet (CD3); Russ Freeman: piano (CD3); Bob Magnusson: bass (CD3); Carl Burnett: drums (CD3).
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The widow of the saxophonist Art Pepper, who died in 1982, has recently inaugurated a CD-reissue project to fill in the blanks of Pepper’s career with live recordings. But with “The Art History Project” (Widow’s Taste), she’s attempting something more like a very boiled down, highly subjective career retrospective, with previously unissued music as the bait. (She mentions in her liner notes that it could serve as an audio companion to Pepper’s fascinating autobiography, “Straight Life,” which she helped him write.) The set dedicates one CD to Pepper’s work from the 1950s, one to the ’60s and one to the ’70s. The early tracks float by on his urgent, vulnerable and melodic alto saxophone improvising. It’s some of the best West Coast jazz of that time, luscious pop art with a fighting spirit, from records like “Modern Art,” “The Way It Was” and “The Discovery Sessions.”
The set becomes interesting in the 1960s, after Pepper’s six on-and-off years in jail, and shows his increasing respect for John Coltrane. There’s still some California buoyancy in previously unknown tracks like “Track 2,” but you hear it giving way, as if a switch were flipped, to long, scrabbling, honking phrases. Ms. Pepper lobbies hard for the ’70s as his prime period, when he had finally made it through jail, drugs and rehab, and found a synthesis of his past styles. Though the live recordings she has chosen aren’t perfect — some are with pickup bands and compromised sound — their intensity and experience they transmit is unmistakable.
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Thank you, Laurie
Art Pepper: The Art History Project / Unreleased Art, Vol. IV - Widow’s Taste APM 09001 - 3 CDs: Disc 1: 68:53, Disc 2: 42:35, Disc 3: 69:15 ****1/2 [Avail. CD Baby]:
(Art Pepper, alto sax – playing with various artists over 31 year period (1951-1982): incl. the Stan Kenton Innovations Orchestra, Buddy Rich Big Band; with pianists – Carl Perkins, Russ Freeman, Hampton Hawes, Ronnie Ball, Claude Williamson, Frank Strazzeri, Milcho Leviev, Smith Dobson, Stanley Cowell – Horns – Jack Sheldon, Warne Marsh –bassists include: Leroy Vinnegar, Ben Tucker, Joe Mondragon, Hersh Hamel, Bob Magnusson, George Mraz – Drummers include: Shelley Manne, Chuck Flores, Larry Bunker, Carl Burnett, Ben Riley)
We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the prior three issues of unreleased Art Pepper material researched and annotated by Art’s widow, Laurie. The prior issues were from the end of Art’s career, when he was in a mad rush to outrun the grim reaper. Art knew the end was near yet his playing and passion consumed his whole being. Largely recorded overseas - Japan and England, along with his career closing concert in Washington D.C in 1982, Art was still in prime form and his passionate playing had a gut-wrenching urgency that was truly gripping.
With Vol. 4 Laurie Pepper has gone for the whole enchilada - a complete introduction to Art’s entire career, from the Kenton band to “West Coast style” cool jazz in Disc 1 (Pure Art);  to mid-period Pepper (post-San Quentin) when Coltrane’s influence permeated Art’s playing and an angrier aggressive mood was present on Hard Art, with Disc 2. We then return to late period Art Pepper with Disc 3 and Consummate Art, which has some unreleased surprises.
The self-titled Art Pepper from the Stan Kenton Innovations Band opens Disc 1. It swings hard and Art’s solo matches the advanced big band rhythms this Kenton band had. Seven of the 17 tracks on Disc 1 come from Modern Art. Five come from Surf Ride. No unreleased tracks are found on Disc 1. Wayne Peet has done another nice job remastering this material, however. I just love Patricia, which Art wrote for his daughter - it is a beautiful ballad.
Disc 2 ups the ante with six out of seven tracks previously unreleased. Just after his release from San Quentin in 1964, Art put a band together and performed on TV and in clubs. Contemporary’s Les Koenig, had no interest in Art’s post-prison harder edge material, and though allowing some recording had no interest in its release. The recording quality is not up to par, but Art completists will be fascinated with the in-your-face playing Art brings to the six unreleased tracks that feature pianist Frank Strazzeri, Hersh Hamel on bass and Bill Goodwin on drums. Coltrane’s influence is present, and Strazzeri’s bop playing is a nice counterpoint to Art’s forays. That Crazy Blues takes off with squeaks and squawks and Hamel and Goodwin keep pace admirably, with especially Hamel acquitting himself admirably. The Rich Big Band does a unique read on Chelsea Bridge to close out Disc 2 and Pepper is back with more sensual playing from a re-recording that Rich did letting Art blow hard. We begin to get back to Art’s passionate playing that consumed his later years. Chelsea Bridge got a big gale wind from this arrangement! Disc 3 may be the most interesting disc as it provides post-Synanon 1975-1982, the closing stages of Art’s career and life when he poured his passion into his playing baring his soul. All the tracks here are unreleased or had very limited exposure to the public.  Ranging from venues from Japan to Paris, with Half Moon Bay’s iconic Bach Dynamite and Dancing Society, and rounding out with two live tracks from New York’s Fat Tuesday. We also have two songs from the Hollywood Sessions from 1980 that have had more exposure in the last ten years from a box set. Most of these closing seven tracks allow Art to stretch out where on their tracks together Milcho Leviev pushed Art, often hogging the proceedings to Art’s chagrin. The great Stanley Cowell, a more sympathetic accompanist is featured on two songs given extended readings, Landscape and Mambo Koyama. The rhythm section here is about as top notch as New York provided at the time - Cowell, George Mraz, and Ben Riley. Laurie feels they played too fast for the ballads and mildly up-tempo numbers but to my ears, especially on Landscape, they sound mighty fine. A return to the West Coast sound demanded by Art’s rabid Japanese fans is provided on Angel Wings and Historia de un Mor, where good friend (and wild man, still with us) Jack Sheldon provides a good foil for Art.  Historia is especially moving.
Every time I think the well has run dry with new Art Pepper material, Laurie Pepper finds new hidden treasures. As a companion to Art’s autobiography, Straight Life, The Art History Project provides a well rounded retrospective into the genius that was Art Pepper.May Laurie Pepper continue to surprise and please us with more Unreleased Art. For us Art Pepper completists, the more the merrier. Art Pepper lives on….
- Jeff Krow
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When Straight Life came out, I had known little of Pepper's life story. But after reading the book in one sitting, I understood immediately what Pepper was trying to say with his music and where all that energy, pain and beauty came from.
[On Disc 2] Dig the 11-minute So In Love featuring free jazz breaks with John Coltrane-like arpeggio showers. But this motif isn't a lift. Pepper breaks in places, allowing his former lyricism to emerge. On That Crazy Blues, there are shades of Ornette Coleman as Pepper spins and spins while developing ideas.
Even if you already own some of the set's tracks on Individual albums, it's a delight to have Laurie Pepper's choices here. Just knowing that she finds these tracks meaningful and in this order make them special. The remastering by Wayne Peet is superb.
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