Gary Shivers on Jazz; Art Pepper/Sonny Stitt Part 1 and 2

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The The The The The The The The The The The The The on discovery records. I get a boot out of you by Marty Pace. The principal soloist there was Art Pepper, the Alto saxophonist. During the summer of 1982, Jazz lost two of the most brilliant Alto saxophonists it has known. Art Pepper and

Sunny Stitt. Their backgrounds and histories and roots were very different and yet they were both deeply inspired by Charlie Parker as has virtually every saxophonist since Charlie Parker began playing. Lee Konitz once said that anybody who ever played the instrument after Charlie Parker could be sued for plagiarism. Art Pepper and Sunny Stitt were both profoundly inspired by Charlie Parker and yet the the execution of the influence by each of them was very different. Sunny Stitt worked with Dizzy Gillespie and that crowd on the East Coast. At the same time Art Pepper was working with Stan Kenton and Benny Carter and Lee Young and that crowd around Los Angeles is not as early as 1943. Those schools and interpretations of the Charlie Parker influence were very different and so I want you to hear music of these two giants of their instruments. Art Pepper and Sunny Stitt and to hear at the same time different

interpretations of the influence of Charlie Parker through the years. Both of them Sunny Stitt and Art Pepper were principally known as Alto saxophonists although both of them doubled quite frequently on tenor and Art Pepper was heard occasionally on clarinet too and in one of the unique clarinet sounds of his generation a generation that mostly disregarded that whole instrument. Art Pepper was born in Gardena, California in September of 1925 and died in the summer of 1982 and June of this year. He studied privately and studied clarinet at the age of nine and later Alto at 13. He worked around Los Angeles with Gus Arnheim and Buddy Carter and Benny Carter and Lee Young. He joined Stan Kenton for a few months in 1943 and then served in the Army. Then free lanced in the Los Angeles area, rejoining Stan Kenton in 1947, remaining with Kenton off and on until 1952. He was inactive from time to time throughout the rest of his career due to drug violations and prison sentences and long periods

of illness. He was active from time to time with his own groups and in recordings with Marty Pace and others through the fifties. In the sixties he spent much of that much of the decade of the sixties in Stan Quentin and other institutions. He joined Buddy Rich's band in 1968 briefly then due to illness left the band, rejoined it briefly in 1969, then entered synon in around 1969 and from 1970 until 1974 was a bookkeeper in Venice, California. He re-entered music in late 1974 when the University of Denver invited him to be a clinician on clarinet at a jazz festival they were having for college students and at that point re-entered music, finished his autobiography straight life and recorded very prolifically from 1975 until his death in 1982 recorded very prolifically and evidencing a totally new pattern of

influences in his playing largely attributable to John Coltrane. I want you to hear some of the early music of Art Pepper beginning in 1951 when he was part of Stan Kenton's orchestra. This is a classic Stan Kenton record and it's one that wasn't very well documented for a long time. Gary Foster, a West Coast Alto saxophonist and expert on this kind of music, thought it was Bud Shank who played the solo on this recording. Bud Shank said it was Art Pepper and the discographical information we have on the most recent re-issue of it says that it is in fact Art Pepper playing the Alto solo. The recording was made in September 1951. It's Stan Kenton's own arrangement of the beautiful old standard by Victor Young, Street of Dreams, the other silos are by Stan Kenton piano, Don Bagley bass and the very beautiful Alto solo is by Art Pepper. The original recording of Street of Dreams from 1951 by Stan Kenton's

orchestra, Don Bagley was the bassist, Stan Kenton the pianist and a ranger and Art Pepper was the Alto soloist. There was a remake of that record 25 years later in a very beautiful performance with the late John Park in the Alto solo role. That was the first recording of Street of Dreams by Stan Kenton with Art Pepper on Alto saxophone. Actually earlier the same year in May of 1951, Art Pepper soloed on another very famous Stan Kenton recording. That I think is one of the most beautiful ballet performances ever recorded by Kenton's band and here is one of the most accessible and delightfully swinging performances that Kenton band ever recorded. It's Jean Rowland's original music called Jump for Joe. Jean Rowland, another a ranger and composer, lost to

the music world in the summer of 1982. He wrote Jump for Joe in 1951 and the soloist is Art Pepper with Stan Kenton's orchestra. In 1952 in October of that year, Art Pepper recorded some of his first solo

performances just with a rhythm section for an earlier incarnation of Albert Mark's Discovery label. Those have been reissued on Savoy records in the album Art Pepper Discoveries, which includes all the issued versions and alternate takes of 1952 and 54 recordings by groups led by Art Pepper. This is one of the 52 dates and it's a it's a ballad featuring Russ Freeman piano, Bob Whitlock bass, Bobby White drums and the leader Art Pepper on Alto. He plays another Matt Dennis standard called Everything Happens to Me. Everything Happens to Me. Art Pepper, Alto saxophone in 1952 with a rhythm

section led by Russ Freeman on piano. There was a lot of recording sessions during the 50s in which Art Pepper participated. This is just one of them. It's a non-et led by the French hornist John Grass. The instrumentation is built around those that Dave Brubek and Miles Davis and later Marty Pace experimented with. It's a non-et but it features rather spare instrumentations in each section. There's one trumpet, one alto, one French horn, a tenor, a baritone, a tuba and a rhythm section, piano bass and drums. Paul Moore, Red Mitchell and Shelley Mann. The presence of a horn and tuba are reminiscent of some of the experimentation again of Dave Brubek and Miles Davis with his non-et and of course Jerry Mulligan and Shorty Rogers and

others during this period. This would be around 1954-55 rather late for this kind of instrumentation compared to the other innovators in this kind of music. The album on decker records was called Jazz Manics by the John Grass non-et and the music is Sonny Burke's classic Midnight Sun written with Lionel Hampton and arranged by John Grass. He plays the French horn solo, the other solos are buddy Collette and baritone sax and Art Pepper on alto saxophone and Bob Cooper on tenor Midnight Sun by John Grass non-et featuring Art Pepper on alto. John Grass wrote that arrangement of Sonny Burke's Midnight Sun written

with Lionel Hampton. Midnight Sun played by the John Grass non-et in about 1954. The album on decker records was Jazz Manics and the soloists were buddy Collette on baritone sax. June Christie's husband Bob Cooper was on tenor sax John Grass, French horn and Art Pepper was the alto saxophonist. Art Pepper's style was clearly influenced by Charlie Parker very clearly but he was also part of the West Coast tradition wherein other alto saxophonists of the same period would include Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond whose sound at that time was virtually indistinguishable. Whitney Balliot has written.

Marie Konitz and Art Pepper were in and out of the Stan Kenton orchestra during the same years of the early fifties and Lee Konitz and Art Pepper had much in common in their sound which is a step or two a level or two somehow removed from Charlie Parker but still certainly influenced by Charlie Parker. Again it was Lee Konitz who attributes everybody's playing after Charlie Parker to Parker but Konitz style was was much more oblique and through his studies with Ronnie Tristano more studied than Parker's may have been and it's it's telling I think to find Art Pepper together with Warren Marsh in this recording because Warren Marsh and Lee Konitz were together in the famous early recordings of of Lenny Tristano and were together from time to time in a lot of records over a period of 30 years. So here in 1956 we have Art Pepper and Warren Marsh together in a fascinating and musically dazzling just

completely successful recording session. The session was made in 1956 and wasn't released for 15 years it was released for the first time in 1972 in a contemporary records album The Way It Was by Art Pepper. The group here has Ronnie Ball and piano Ben Tucker bass and Gary Fromer drums with the two horns Art Pepper Alto and Warren Marsh on Tener. The music is Jerome Kerns all the things you are some very beautiful music played in 1956 by Art Pepper and Warren Marsh together.

I think it's fascinating to hear these two players together Warren Marsh who played this kind of music with Lee Konitz and Lenny Tristano often on for 30 years playing with his own oblique and totally unique tone and playing with Art Pepper who can dance around the chords and match the counterpoint of Warren Marsh just as cleverly and beautifully as Lee Konitz himself but with much more direct and clear influence of Charlie Parker in his solo statements. There was a group from well the summer of 1956 until the late winter of 1957 for a little less than a year featuring Warren Marsh and another Tener saxophonist named Ted Brown together.

Ted Brown was another student of Tristano who also has recorded with Lee Konitz off and on for many years. Ted Brown and Warren Marsh had a group together during the same period. In fact that was members of the same group and that group recorded with guest soloist Art Pepper during the same year late in 1956. The rhythm section is basically the same except Jeff Morton replaces Gary from or on drums. Ben Tucker is on bass and Ronnie Paul and piano again and here there are three horns Ted Brown and Warren Marsh on Tener. Tener's and Art Pepper again on Alto. Will he be overwhelmed by the Tristano influence we shall see as we hear an old Billy Holiday standard called foolin myself played by this three horn group the Ted Brown sex-tet featuring Warren Marsh and Art Pepper. There are solo exchanges besides the full chorus solos they enter in this order first Ted Brown then Art Pepper then Warren Marsh and they play foolin myself.

Some beautiful collective improvisation by two

tenors and Alto with the rhythm the two tenors Ted Brown and Warren Marsh the Alto saxophonist was Art Pepper the rhythm section was Ronnie ball Ben Tucker and Jeff Morton. The music was foolin myself written by Fats Weller but forever associated I think with Billy Holiday's classic recording of it foolin myself the album was made in 1956 for Vanguard Records free wheelin by the Ted Brown sex-tet which happily is available once again in a Japanese reissue of this classic Vanguard record. In 1957 Art Pepper experimented again with a nine-piece instrumentation again patterned roughly loosely after the classic Miles Davis Birth of the Cool instrumentation which in turn led to experimentation by Jerry Mulligan and Shorty Rogers and Marty Pace and John Grass as we heard and others. This is a 1957 date

arranged and conducted by Shorty Rogers who also composed the music and the instrumentation and players are as follows. Art Pepper is the Alto saxophonist and leader of the Art Pepper nine. Stu Williamson plays valve trombone the right-done Fegorquist trumpet Bill Holman tenor Bud Shank plays baritone sax Red Cavender tuba and the rhythm section is Russ Freeman piano Monty Woodward bass and Sherry Mann drums. This original music is called Powder Puff and it's played by the Art Pepper nine. Powder Puff composed and arranged by Shorty Rogers

for the Art Pepper nine in 1957. Art Pepper was the principal soloist on Alto sax that was recorded for Pacific jazz records. During the late fifties and into 1960 wellened in 1960 Art Pepper recorded extensively for contemporary records including an important session with Marty Pace and his big band it was an 11-piece orchestra similar to the one with which we opened this hour recorded the same year for another label and he recorded on sessions with Helen Hume's and a lot of others and made a number of solo albums for contemporary records in the late fifties and early sixties. This is one from November of 1960 Art Pepper intensity. One of his I think most important quartet records of that period. The rhythm section is Dolo Coker piano Jimmy Bond bass and Frank Butler drums. The music is again by Jerome Kern with Ira Gershwin long ago and far away. A quartet led by Alto saxophonist Art Pepper.

Long ago and far away recorded 1960 for

contemporary records the album Intensity by Art Pepper with Dolo Coker Jimmy Bond and Frank Butler. During this period there was another period of illness and absence from jazz for Art Pepper. He returned at the end of 1961 in of all things a Henry Mancini combo recorded for RCA Victor records. Henry Mancini attracted a lot of people to jazz. I guess it's okay to question the authenticity of some of the music he presented although he wrote some awfully good big band jazz music.

Most importantly he presented some of the most important west coast soloists to a broader audience through his very popular big band and smaller group records and his TV and motion picture soundtracks of the early sixties. This one is called combo released on RCA in 1961. The band includes the Nash Brothers Ted Nash and Dick Nash, Ronny Lang, Johnny Williams, Shelley Mann, Pete Condoli, and in a rare appearance on clarinet Art Pepper. Years later Todd Selbert would write Art Pepper's clarinet playing was particularly remarkable having a muscularity that evaded those who built their entire careers on the instrument. When you hear Art Pepper's clarinet I think will be reminded of some of Lester Young's rare clarinet recorded work. The music is by Ben Okland it was a hit for Woody Hermann called Sidewalks of Cuba and among the other soloists it features Art Pepper on clarinet The Arrangement is by Henry Mann Seaney. The Woody Hermann classic Sidewalks of Cuba

written by Ben Okland arranged by Henry Mann Seaney featuring his small group. The soloists were a Ted Nash on alto sax and Pete Condoli trumpet Johnny Williams piano and Art Pepper played the clarinet solo in 1961. In 1959 for one of those contemporary albums one called modern jazz classics Art Pepper played clarinet again. This time with an 11-piece band arranged and connected by Marty Pace and the music was a Charlie Parker Dizzy Gillespie classic called anthropology. Recorder live at Caesar's Palace in 1968. Art Pepper was the featured

alto saxophonist with Buddy Rich's Big Band. Art Pepper by this time had been absent from the recording and music scenes for most of that decade. He spent part of 1968 and Buddy Rich's band re-entered the hospital, returned to Buddy Rich's band briefly in 1969 and then was absent for music again for another five years. He was hospitalized for a period of time then worked as a bookkeeper in Venice, California from 1971 till 1974. In 1974 he went to the University of Denver as a clinician to teach clarinet and re-entered the music business. In 1975 began recording again, published his autobiography written with his wife Lori. The autobiography was entitled straight life and began

recording very extensively, recording very prolifically until his death in the summer of 1982. We're listening to recordings of Art Pepper and we will be listening to recordings of Sonny Stitt, two great saxophonists who were lost to us during the summer of 1982. Art Pepper's story picks up in August 1975 when he's back in the recording studio at contemporary records for the first time in what must have been 15 years to record a new album called Living Legend. His rhythm section on the occasion included the late Hampton Haws on piano Charlie Hayden bass and Shelley Mann on drums and he plays the bathed, here's that rainy day. It's very wonderful to be here once again and it's nice to see you out there

and being such a great audience as you were last year. I like to ever meet the guys in a band and one of the best bands that I've played with in a long time. I'd like to have you meet on drums Billy Higgins. On bass Tony Dumas. On piano my favorite piano player and it's really wonderful to have him to play with this tour like Gary Mate, George Cables. I'd like to have him to play with this tour.

I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour.

I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour.

I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour.

I'd like to have him to play with this tour. I'd like to have him to play with this tour. A couple of records representing Art Peppers returned to music after 1975 and just a couple

of the very many records he has made in the period since then. The first was from his 1975 contemporary album Living Legend with Hampha's piano Charlie Hayden Bays and Shelley Mann drums. One of the major accomplishments, one of the dreams Art Pepper had, some say although it is kind of hard to believe that this is the one wish he wanted fulfilled before his death. But it was certainly a dream of his to record an album with strings and he did so in 1980 for Galaxy Records.

It was recorded in September 1980 and released under the title Winter Moon on Galaxy Records. Most of the arrangements were written by the great tenor saxophonist and arranger Bill Holman who wrote this arrangement of Art Pepper's composition, Our Song, Art Pepper with strings. A Cato a

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