Art Pepper (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. in Gardena, California, was an American alto saxophonist.

Career

He began his career in the 1940s, playing with Benny Carter and Stan Kenton. 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 Downbeat 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 relegated to the somewhat derisive musical movement known as West Coast jazz, characterized by precision and technique over "musical feeling," which more typified the East Coast (or "hot") jazz associated with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Yet, Pepper's music does not neatly fit any particular musical mode.

Perhaps most famous for his recurring legal transgressions, stemming from his addiction to heroin, Pepper had several memorable and productive "comebacks" throughout his career. Inexplicably, 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 from a brain hemmorrhage.

Examples of Pepper's most famous albums from this period 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 with Warne Marsh.

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 the 1950s and 1960s. 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 highly acclaimed albums. Albums from this later period include 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), is a unique exploration into the jazz music world, as well as drug and criminal subcultures of mid-20th century California. The documentary film Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor, available on DVD, devotes much space to music from one of his late groups featuring pianist Milcho Leviev. There is also an interview with Laurie Pepper available on NPR.

Transcriptions

Published Transcriptions:

• Jazz Styles and Analysis: Alto Sax by Harry Miedema. Chicago, Fifth Printing, Feb. 1979. Includes Broadway.
• Straight Life: the Story of Art Pepper by Art Pepper and Laurie Pepper. New York and London, 1979. ISBN 0028718208. Includes the head of Straight Life.
• Jazz 2: Sax Alto. Transcribed by John Robert Brown. International Music Publications, Woodford Green, Essex, 1986. ISBN 0863594085. Includes 'Round Midnight.
• The Genius of Art Pepper. Foreword by Laurie Pepper. North Sydney, Warner/Chappell Music, 1987. ISBN 1863620125. Includes: Arthur's Blues; Blues for Blanche; Funny Blues; Landscape; Make a List Make a Wish; Mambo de la Pinta; Mambo Koyama; Mr Big 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. Includes True Blues.
• The Art Pepper Collection. Foreword by Jeff Sultanof. Milwaukee, Hal Leonard, 1995. ISBN 0793540070. 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 1952-1961, including five solos by Art Pepper. Olympia Music Publishing, 1996. ISBN 0966704711.

Transcriptions available on the Internet:

• Anthropology
• Birk's Works
• Groovin' High
• Star Eyes
• Too Close For Comfort
• You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To