Jazz 101

Ok, I know I'm a bit obsessed with Art Pepper these days, but I just can't get enough! This holiday season was good to me and to Laurie Pepper who is making some bank off of me. As previously mentioned, I shopped victoriously for Art's Complete Galaxy Recordings, and then I received his Complete Village Vanguard Sessions for Christmas. Yes, that's 25 CDs of Pepper, and no, it's not enough. But, it's a start.

Let me say that I was slow to accept Art's later period. I bought Winter Moon, his acclaimed "with strings" album for the Galaxy label, and felt that it was somewhat cheesy and too screechy for lack of a better word. I was accustomed to Art's tight, crisp sound; perfectly phrased. As I listened to and read more about him, I decided to give his 70's comeback another try. The samples online sounded good, so I went for it. I'm glad I did, of course. Although I didn't give in immediately to the bruhaha about the more emotional Art (I read that as less techinically proficient and reaching Art), this period is marked by a more expressive Art. I'm still getting used to the hoots and squaks to a degree, but when you listen to them as intentional and emotional statements rather than technical blunders, I think it marks a new world of Pepper. Both of the sets offer outstanding sets, from the raw Pepper of Vanguard to the refined duets with George Cables which close out the Galaxy set, I highly recommend them.