Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982)[1] was an Americanjazz musician, most known as analto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded ontenor saxophone,clarinet (his first instrument) andbass clarinet. Active primarily inWest Coast jazz, Pepper first came to prominence inStan Kenton's big band. He was known for his emotionally charged performances and several stylistic shifts throughout his career, and was described by criticScott Yanow as having "attained his goal of becoming the world's greatest altoist" at the time of his death in 1982.[2]
Art Pepper was born inGardena, California, United States.[3] His mother was a 14-year-old runaway; his father, a merchant seaman. Both were violentalcoholics, and when Pepper was still quite young, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother. He expressed early musical interest and talent, and he was given lessons. He began playing clarinet at the age of nine, switched to altosaxophone at 13,[4] and immediately began jamming onCentral Avenue, the black nightclub district ofLos Angeles.
His career was repeatedly interrupted by several prison stints stemming from his addiction toheroin,[4] but Pepper managed to have several productive "comebacks". Remarkably, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship throughout his career until his death in 1982.
His last comeback saw Pepper, who had started his career inStan Kenton's big band, becoming a member ofBuddy Rich's Big Band from 1968 to 1969. After beginningmethadone therapy in the mid-1970s, he toured Europe and Japan with his own groups and recorded many albums, mostly forGalaxy Records, a subsidiary ofFantasy Records. Pepper's later albums includeLiving Legend,Art Pepper Today,Among Friends, andLive in Japan.[4]
Pepper lived for many years in the hills ofEcho Park, in Los Angeles. He became a heroin addict in the 1940s, and his career was interrupted by drug-relatedprison sentences in 1954–56, 1960–61, 1961–64, and 1964–65; the final two sentences were served inSan Quentin.[1] While in San Quentin, he played in an ensemble with saxophonistFrank Morgan.[5] In the late 1960s, Pepper spent time inSynanon, a rehabilitation program that turned out to be a cult.
Hisautobiography,[6]Straight Life (1980, co-written with his third wife Laurie Pepper), discusses the jazz music world, as well as drug and criminalsubcultures of mid-20th century California. Among the many anecdotes shared from his life, Pepper boasts of raping a woman while stationed inLondon during theSecond World War (deserved, in his view, because he had shared whiskey and walked several miles with her).[7] Soon after the publication of this book, director Don McGlynn released thedocumentary filmArt Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor,[8] discussing his life and featuring interviews with both Art and his wife Laurie, as well as footage from a live performance in aMalibu jazz club. Laurie Pepper also released an interview toNPR.
Pepper died of astroke in Los Angeles on June 15, 1982, aged 56.[6][9] He is interred in the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum in theHollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood.
Jazz 2: Sax Alto. Transcribed by John Robert Brown. International Music Publications, Woodford Green, Essex, 1986.ISBN0-86359-408-5. Includes 'Round Midnight.
The Genius of Art Pepper. Foreword by Laurie Pepper. North Sydney, Warner/Chappell Music, 1987.ISBN1-86362-012-5. Includes:Arthur's Blues;Blues for Blanche;Funny Blues;Landscape;Make a List Make a Wish;Mambo de la Pinta;Mambo Koyama; MrBig Falls his J.G. Hand;Our Song;Road Game;September Song;Tete a Tete. All transcriptions include parts for Alto and Rhythm;Funny Blues also has a part for Trumpet.
Masters of the Alto Saxophone Play The Blues. Jazz Alto Solos. Transcribed by Trent Kynaston and Jonathan Ball. Corybant Productions, 1990. IncludesTrue Blues.
The Art Pepper Collection. Foreword by Jeff Sultanof. Milwaukee, Hal Leonard, 1995.ISBN0-7935-4007-0. Includes:Art's Oregano;Diane;Landscape;Las Cuevas de Mario;Make a List (Make a Wish);Mr. Big Falls his J.G. Hand;Ophelia;Pepper Returns;Sometime;Straight Life;Surf Ride(I);Surf Ride(II);That's Love;The Trip;Waltz Me Blues.
West Coast Jazz Saxophone Solos transcribed and edited by Robert A. Luckey, Ph.D. Features 15 recorded solos from 1952 to 1961, including five solos by Art Pepper. Olympia Music Publishing, 1996.ISBN0-9667047-1-1.
1965: Ernie Edwards Jr. et al."Jazz Discographies Unlimited" Presents "Art Pepper". A Complete Discography Compiled by Ernie Edwards, Jr. Jazz Discographies Unlimited, Spotlight Series, Vol. 4. October 1965. 22pp.
1973: C. Marra, "Art Pepper: 'I'm Here to Stay!'"Downbeat, xl/4, 1973, p. 16.
1975: L. Underwood, "Pepper's Painful Road to Pure Art".Downbeat, xlii/11, 1975, p. 16.
1981: Gary Giddins, "The Whiteness of the Wail", inRiding on a Blue Note. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981, pp. 252–257. (An article originally published in July 1977.)
1986: David Nicholson Pepperell, "Art Pepper: I Want to Play so Bad",Wire Magazine, Issue 28, June 1986, pp. 26–31.
1986: Gary Giddins, "Art Pepper, 1926-1982", inRhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the 80s. New York: OUP, 1986, pp. 106–108. (An article originally published in June 1982.)
1992:Ted Gioia, "Straight Life", inWest Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960. New York and Oxford: OUP, 1992, pp. 283–307 (Chapter Fourteen).ISBN0-19-508916-2.
2000: Todd Selbert,The Art Pepper Companion: Writings on a Jazz Original. Cooper Square Press, 2000.ISBN978-0-8154-1067-6.
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