Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists (along with Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond) that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper died at the age of 56, he had attained his goal of becoming the world's greatest altoist."

Pepper was born in Gardena, California. He began his career in the 1940s, playing with Benny Carter and Stan Kenton (1946–52). By the 1950s Pepper was recognized as one of the leading alto saxophonists in jazz, epitomized by his finishing second only to Charlie Parker as Best Alto Saxophonist in the Down Beat magazine Readers Poll of 1952. Along with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and Shelly Manne, and perhaps due more to geography than playing style, Pepper is often associated with the musical movement known as West Coast jazz, as contrasted with the East Coast (or "hot") jazz associated with the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Some of Pepper's most famous albums from the 1950s are Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Art Pepper + Eleven - Modern Jazz Classics, Gettin' Together, and Smack Up. Representative music from this time appears on The Aladdin Recordings (three volumes), The Early Show, The Late Show, The Complete Surf Ride, and The Way It Was!, which features a session recorded withWarne Marsh.

 

His career was repeatedly interrupted by the years he had to spend in jail because of his recurring legal transgressions, stemming from his addiction to heroin, but Pepper managed to have several memorable and productive "comebacks". Remarkably, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship until his death from a brain hemorrhage.
His last comeback saw Pepper, which had started his career in Stan Kenton's big band, becoming a member of Buddy Rich's Big Band from 1968 to 1969. In 1977 and 1978 he made two well received tours of Japan. During this period, he recorded two albums - Goin' Home with George Cables, and Winter Moon with a string orchestra - which were among his favorites and which he considered his definitive achievements.
Personal life

Pepper lived for many years in the hills of Echo Park, in Los Angeles. He had become a heroin addict in the 1940s, and his career was interrupted by drug-related prison sentences in 1954–56, 1960–61, 1961–64 and 1964–65; the final two sentences were served in San Quentin. In the late 1960s Pepper spent time in Synanon, a drug rehabilitation group.

After beginning methadone therapy in the mid-1970s, Art had a musical comeback and recorded a series of albums including Living Legend, Art Pepper Today, Among Friends, and Live in Japan: Vol. 2.



His autobiography, Straight Life (1980) (transcribed by his third wife Laurie Pepper), discusses the jazz music world, as well as drug and criminal subcultures of mid-20th century California. Soon after the publication of this book, the director Don McGlynn released the documentary film Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor, discussing his life and featuring interviews with both Art and his wife Laurie, as well as footage from a live performance in Malibu jazz club. Laurie Pepper also released an interview to NPR.

Pepper died of a stroke in Los Angeles.

Albums by Art Pepper

As leader

1951 Popo - w/ Shorty Rogers (Xanadu Records)
1952 The Early Show (Xanadu Records)
1952 The Late Show (Xanadu Records)
1952 Surf Ride (Savoy)
1952 A Night at the Surf Club, Vol. 1 [live] (EPM)
1952 A Night at the Surf Club, Vol. 1 [live] (Xanadu)
1952 A Night at the Surf Club, Vol. 2 [live] (EPM)
1952 A Night at the Surf Club, Vol. 2 [live] (Xanadu)
1952 Art Pepper: Sonny Redd (Savoy)
1953 Art Pepper Quartet: Volume 1 (Time Is)
1954 Art Pepper Quintet (Discovery)
1956 Val's Pal (VSOP)
1956 The Art Pepper Quartet (Tampa/OJC)
1956 The Artistry of Pepper (Pacific Jazz)
1957 Show Time Japanese Import
1957 Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (Contemporary/OJC)
1957 The Art of Pepper, Vol. 3 (Blue Note)
1957 The Art of Pepper, Vol. 1 (VSOP)
1957 The Art of Pepper, Vol. 2 (VSOP)
1957 Mucho Calor (Much Heat) (Andex/VSOP/TOFREC)
1958 The Art Pepper: Red Norvo Sextet (Score)
1959 Art Pepper + Eleven - Modern Jazz Classics (Contemporary/OJC)
1959 Two Altos (Savoy)
1960 Gettin' Together (Contemporary/OJC)
1960 Smack Up (Contemporary/OJC)
1960 Intensity (Contemporary/OJC)
1963 Pepper/Manne (Charlie Parker)
1964 Art Pepper Quartet in San Francisco (1964) [live] (Fresh Sound)
1968 Art Pepper Quintet : Live at Donte's 1968 (1968) [live] (Fresh Sound)
1975 Garden State Jam Sessions [live] (Lone Hill Jazz)
1975 I'll Remember April : Live at Foothill College (Storyville)
1975 Living Legend (Contemporary/Original Jazz Classics)
1976 The Trip (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 A Night in Tunisia [live] (Storyville)
1977 No Limit (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 Tokyo Debut [live] (Galaxy)
1977 Thursday Night at the Village VanguardThursday Night at the Village Vanguard - LP [live] (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 Friday Night at the Village Vanguard [live] (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 Saturday Night at the Village Vanguard [live] (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 More for Les: at the Village Vanguard Vol. 4 [live] (Contemporary/OJC)
1977 San Francisco Samba: Live at Keystone Korner (Contemporary)
1977 The Gauntlet / Original Sound Track (Warner Bros.)
1978 Live in Japan, Vol. 1: Ophelia (Storyville)
1978 Live in Japan, Vol. 2 (Storyville)
1978 Among Friends (Discovery)
1978 Art Pepper Today (Original Jazz Classics)
1978 Birds and Ballads (Galaxy)
1979 So in Love (Artists House)
1979 New York Album (Original Jazz Classics)
1979 Artworks (Galaxy)
1979 Tokyo Encore [live] (Dreyfus)
1979 Landscape Landscape[live] (Galaxy/OJC)
1979 Straight Life (Galaxy/OJC)
1980 Winter Moon (Galaxy/OJC)
1980 One September Afternoon (Galaxy/OJC)
1980 Blues for the Fisherman with Milcho Leviev Live at Ronnie Scott's London.(TAA/Mole)
1981 Art Pepper with Duke Jordan in Copenhagen 1981 [live] (Galaxy)
1981 Art Lives (Galaxy)
1981 Roadgame Roadgame[live] (Galaxy/OJC)
1981 Art 'N' Zoot (WestWind)
1981 Arthur's Blues (Original Jazz Classics)
1982 Goin' Home (Original Jazz Classics)
1982 Tête-à-Tête (Galaxy/OJC)
1982 Darn That Dream (Real Time)
19?? Art Pepper with Warne Marsh (Victor (aka The Way it Was! Contemporary))
19?? Summer Knows (Absord)
19?? Art in L.A. (WestWind)

As a sideman

1956 Hoagy Sings Carmichael Pacific Jazz (with Hoagy Carmichael)
1956 The Marty Paich Quartet featuring Art Pepper Tampa/VSOP (with Marty Paich)
1968 Mercy, Mercy Pacific Jazz (with Buddy Rich)
1978: Birds and Ballads (Johnny Griffin)
1979 California Hard Xanadu Records (with Dolo Coker)
1979 Very R.A.R.E. Konnex Records (with Elvin Jones)
1980 Blues For The Fisherman [Live] Mole (with Milcho Leviev)
1980 True Blues [Live] Mole (with Milcho Leviev)
1981 Mistral (with Freddie Hubbard)
1982 Richie Cole And... Return to Alto Acres Palo Alto (with Richie Cole)




















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