Last night as my wife and I were feeding our babies their dinner, jazz was playing on the Harmon/Karmon. I had the iPod on random in the jazz genre and who should come on but our old friend Art Pepper.
-I love Art Pepper, I said.
My wife says to the babies -You've got to love Art Pepper if you live in this house.
And how can you not love Art Pepper? One of the premiere alto sax players of all time, he recorded dozens of albums and was a guest on dozens more. Some jazz-o-philes say he never recorded a poor album and I have yet to listen to anything that proves this theory incorrect.
He could play a gorgeous ballad as well as a burning solo. He also had a special touch with songs with a Spanish flavour. I dare you to listen to
Mambo de la Pinta (click on title to listen) without feeling like dancing.
He lived a tough life with frequent stints in jail for drug offenses (heroin was a plague in the jazz world from Charlie Parker on down) but after getting clean in the early-70s, he came back with a vengeance and recorded so much in his final years that Galaxy Records put out a 16 disc set that covered a mere four years (1978-1982) and if you can get your hands on a copy of this marvellous set that runs 18 hours and 37 minutes, I dare you to find a weak track.
Yes, as a young an upcoming sax player, I stumbled upon Art, and I have been stumbling ever since.....
ReplyDeleteHe is truly one of the greats!
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