Art Pepper Collection, Solos Artist Transcriptions, Saxophone

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Art Pepper (short bio)

Born in Gardena (California), saxophonist Art Pepper (Gardena, Los Angeles, September 1, 1925 – Los Angeles, June 15, 1982), after learning the clarinet at the age of 9 and switching to the alto sax at the age of 13, participates in orchestras such as those of Lee Young and Benny Carter, in the Los Angeles area.

Thanks to the latter, he became part of the famous Stan Kenton orchestra, with whom he participated in his first record recording. He married Patti Moore at the age of 17 and when everything seemed to be working out perfectly, he was called up by the North American Army and left for England, returning in 1946 where he played again with Stan Kenton, with whom he would remain until 1952.

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Between 1952 and 1954 he recorded frequently for the Savoy label, first in the company of the pianist, Russ Freeman, and in August ’54, with the saxophonist, Jack Montrose. As his reputation grows, he dedicates himself as passionately to music as he does to women and his newly discovered heroin. His dependency is such that his family is forced to mortgage their home to undergo detoxification. The results are not as expected, apart from being arrested for possession of narcotics. He would spend almost two years (between 1953 and 1954) between the Los Angeles prison and the Fort Worth hospital, thus beginning a true ordeal in his life.

During his stay in prison, his romantic relationship with his wife deteriorates to the point that they divorce. Upon his release, he recorded with Jack Montrose, but soon returned, for a 9-month stint, to the Los Angeles prison, after a police inspection of his apartment. After an absence of 20 months, Pepper reappears on stage. He has joined forces with composer-arranger and tenor saxophonist Jack Montrose and will record, work and tour with the latter’s new quartet.

His second wife introduced him to Lester Köenig, head of Contemporary Records with whom he would record several extraordinary albums such as “Art Pepper + Eleven” considered one of the emblematic albums of the cool movement or “Meets the Rhythm Section” and “Gettin’ Together” with Miles Davis’s rhythm sections. He was arrested again for his drug addiction in 1960 and sentenced to enter the worst North American prison: San Quentin.

He will spend three years in San Quentin (between 1961 and 1964). During this time he discovered Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. Upon leaving, he contacted his friend Shelly Manne and returned to the stage, and although he did not record for any record company, fortunately there is an exceptional document, published by Fresh Sound, “Art Pepper Quartet’64- In San Francisco” where you can hear an Art Pepper very influenced by Coltrane.

In the early seventies, Art Pepper makes a serious effort to detoxify and voluntarily enters a clinic in Santa Monica in a deplorable state of health; He was barely over 40 years old. He was there for three years and upon his departure, very recovered but not completely clean, he showed a surprising naturalness in preserving his creativity with the instrument, which he had not played in all that time. He had not set foot in a recording studio in all those years, but his creativity and sound remained intact, surprising everyone and everyone, constituting one of the most extraordinary cases of recovery of a musician for jazz.

In 1975, and when no one was betting on him anymore, Contemporary released a new Art Pepper album, titled: “Living Legend” with a cover that reflects the image of a man punished by life and drugs, with his body full of tattoos and scars. The musical content of that album chills the blood; The music is the same, the sound, the articulation, the attack of the instrument… everything is as before the horror of prison; It is his life and the artist does not want to hide it.

In 1978, he recorded “Today” for the Galaxy label, his masterpiece at the end of his career; a perfect album and on the album cover, once again, the look of a man marked by suffering, isolation and the absence of joy. Four years later, Art Pepper died after spending more than a week in a coma in a hospital due to a brain hemorrhage.

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Imagination · Art Pepper, album Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section.

Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section is a 1957 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper with pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, who were the acclaimed rhythm section for Miles Davis at that time. The album is considered a milestone in Pepper’s career.

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