Born in 1925, Pepper was a California boy who discovered music early. By his teens, he was gigging in local groups and scored early fame as a member of Stan Kenton's band. Before he was out of his teen years, he was enslaved to his demons - booze, pills and heroin. Pepper fought addiction for the rest of his life and it would be tempting to say that the drugs won in the end. But they didn't.
Pepper's life divides into three periods - the fifties, when his abundant talent brought him national renown in a series of recordings that showed him to be not just an acolyte of Charlie Parker. He had speed, yes, but also tremendous passion and energy in his playing.
Through the 50's, Pepper was in and out of jail, repeatedly busted for heroin possession. His most famous recording session of this era came about almost in spite of itself: in 1957, Pepper was spending most of his time high, but his wife and Contemporary Records' Les Koenig wanted him to record with "the" rhythm section - Miles' rhythm section, to be accurate: Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on Bass and Phill Joe Jones on drums. To quote Wikipedia:
"According to legend, the album was recorded under enormous pressure: Pepper first learnt of it on the morning of the recording session, had never met the other musicians (though he admired them all), hadn't played for two weeks (according to the liner notes) or six months (according to Pepper's autobiography Straight Life), was playing on an instrument in a bad state of repair, and was suffering from a drug problem. (This story is clearly unreliable: the discography in Straight Life reveals, for instance, that he had recorded many sessions in the previous weeks, including one just five days before.) Whatever the truth of the recording's circumstances, it is considered a milestone in Pepper's career, and launched a series of albums for Les Koenig's Contemporary label which remain the cornerstone of Pepper's recorded work."
On this week's show, from this album, I'm featuring Pepper's tune, "Straight Life" a very fast, challenging chart that became his signature tune, as well as two cuts from a 1956 album called "The Return of Art Pepper" - the return in question being his return to LA after another jail stretch. We'll hear Charlie Parker's lyrical "Yardbird Suite" and another romp, "Pepper Steak", the latter showcasing Pepper's huge talent for simultaneous improvisation with other musicians - in this case, trumpeter Jack Sheldon.
All three songs are available from iTunes in a special iMix I've set up. One click and you can buy all three tracks.
The second phase of Pepper's life was a long stretch in San Quentin where his playing career essentialy ceased. By the late '60's, he was clean, and joined the Synanon community - called a cult by some - whose methods, to say the least, were controversial. But, in 1975, he returned to playing with an album called "Living Legend". From then to 1982, Pepper played constantly until his health failed. His playing in this phase of his career was still passionate, but the songs were more extended and searching, clearly showing the influence of Coltrane's music on Pepper.
This barely scratches the surface; Pepper's autiobiography, "Straight Life" is essential reading - not just the story of an amazing and tragic life, but a searing biography, one of the best I've read. It's 20 years since I first encountered it - and it's a book that stays with you.
Next time on JAZZ.FM: the music of Gary Burton and Chick Corea. Tuesday, Februay 13 between 9 and 10 AM (EST) on Ralph Benmergui's morning show. Listen in!
(Remember, if you have iTunes on your computer, click here to listen to JAZZ.FM91's live webcast.)
