I wouldn't put so much emphasis on the "dark side" of Pepper's personality. He was a junkie and they have those kind of mood swings, but I spent a memorable day with him during his '70s comeback and he was a great guy - friendly, warm, smart and considerate. And realistic about the jazz world. As for his recordings, he had moments of greatness during that comeback, but to my ears it was spoiled by his misguided attempts to sound "contemporary." He was clearly troubled by what he thought was a lack of recognition because of his whiteness, but he had no reason to worry about the quality of his playing or of his reception in the jazz world. But it was hard for me to listen; on certain solos he would just bury his solos in poorly-conceived attempts to take tangents that he thought made him sound more "modern." He took one of the most amazing solo styles in jazz history, a brilliant linearity, and tried to play little asides that were like stopping the flow of his brilliant energy. His playing became brittle and lacked continuity; it didn't flow as it had. On the few occasions when he just soloed without worrying about external matters it just came pouring out of him; not that his style had changed, but it had deepened with the years. The lines were even more intensive and sounded like he had not lost anything - until the impulse came to reassure himself that he was still "modern." This all may be a minority opinion, but it's the way I hear it.
I only had the studio albums and Vanguard .Thanks for the intro to this Art Pepper live recordings world Syd, it’s left me 300 bucks worse off, eagerly awaiting the postie’s arrival. Great format exploring the outer (and perhaps ) less known areas of an artist’s career, if you fancy doing more of these
Missed this first time - excellent primer Syd ♥️
Where can you get art pepper at Ronnie Scott’s for $12?
Art’s Bandcamp page: https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/album/unreleased-art-pepper-vol-6-blues-for-the-fisherman
There is a Nimbus pressing of the Ronnie Scott LP.
It was released on Mole Jazz records.
Sounds mighty fine.
Linn also rereleased it on there Selekt imprint.
Well, now I need to go get all these Art Pepper albums on vinyl. I missed RSD2024 for various family functions, so this is how I'll console myself.
Pepper therapy. It's what's happening!
I wouldn't put so much emphasis on the "dark side" of Pepper's personality. He was a junkie and they have those kind of mood swings, but I spent a memorable day with him during his '70s comeback and he was a great guy - friendly, warm, smart and considerate. And realistic about the jazz world. As for his recordings, he had moments of greatness during that comeback, but to my ears it was spoiled by his misguided attempts to sound "contemporary." He was clearly troubled by what he thought was a lack of recognition because of his whiteness, but he had no reason to worry about the quality of his playing or of his reception in the jazz world. But it was hard for me to listen; on certain solos he would just bury his solos in poorly-conceived attempts to take tangents that he thought made him sound more "modern." He took one of the most amazing solo styles in jazz history, a brilliant linearity, and tried to play little asides that were like stopping the flow of his brilliant energy. His playing became brittle and lacked continuity; it didn't flow as it had. On the few occasions when he just soloed without worrying about external matters it just came pouring out of him; not that his style had changed, but it had deepened with the years. The lines were even more intensive and sounded like he had not lost anything - until the impulse came to reassure himself that he was still "modern." This all may be a minority opinion, but it's the way I hear it.
I only had the studio albums and Vanguard .Thanks for the intro to this Art Pepper live recordings world Syd, it’s left me 300 bucks worse off, eagerly awaiting the postie’s arrival. Great format exploring the outer (and perhaps ) less known areas of an artist’s career, if you fancy doing more of these