Art Pepper Art Of The Ballad Series CD

Fantasy's The Art of the Ballad series continues with a chronologically wide-ranging look at Art Pepper's way with standard tunes, splitting time almost equally between the two divisions of his career and striking emotional gold frequently. As good as the Contemporary label recordings from 1956 to 1960 are, Pepper's passionate, heart-stopping playing on the 1977-1982 selections from Galaxy simply put them deep in the shade; heard side by side, the earlier dates sound almost lightweight. The disc indulges in two selections from Pepper's string album Winter Moon (the title track and "Blues in the Night," where Pepper muses on the clarinet), but the emotional rush that they produce is worth the extra emphasis. There is also a spectacularly nuanced "You Go to My Head" from this period, live at the Village Vanguard, and two duets with George Cables from a month and a half before Pepper's death. Everything here is already out on CD; there is nothing from the peak late-period album Straight Life, and the sequencing is catch-as-catch-can, but this sampler is potent enough to give newcomers to Art Pepper a depth charge. ~ Richard S. Ginell

This is part of Prestige's The Art Of The Ballad series.

Recorded at Fantasy Studios and Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California between 1957 & 1982. Includes liner notes by S.R.B. Iyer.

Personnel: Art Pepper (alto saxophone); Howard Roberts (guitar); Dan Smiley, Audrey DeSilva, Elisabeth Gibson, Greg Mazmanian, Stephen Gehl, Emily VanValkenburgh, Clifton Foster, Patrice Anderson, John Tenney (violin); Terry Adams , Sharon O'Connor (cello); Herb Geller (alto saxophone); Bob Enevoldsen (tenor saxophone, valve trombone); Warne Marsh, Bill Perkins (tenor saxophone); Med Flory (baritone saxophone); Conte Candoli, Jack Sheldon, Pete Candoli (trumpet); Vincent DeRosa (French horn); Dick Nash (trombone); Dolo Coker, George Cables, Pete Jolly, Red Garland, Ronnie Ball, Stanley Cowell, Wynton Kelly (piano); Elvin Jones, Frank Butler, Gary Frommer, Carl Burnette, Jimmy Cobb , Mel Lewis, Philly Joe Jones (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Joe Tarantino.

Recording information: Contemporary's Studio, LA, CA (11/26/1956-04/14/1982); Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA (11/26/1956-04/14/1982).

Unknown Contributor Roles: Conte Candoli; Elvin Jones; Gary Frommer; George Cables; George Mraz; Carl Burnette; Mel Lewis; Paul Chambers; Pete Candoli; Philly Joe Jones; Red Garland; Wynton Kelly; Cecil McBee.

Arrangers: Marty Paich; Bill Holman.

Personnel includes: Art Pepper (alto saxophone, clarinet); Herb Geller (alto saxophone); Bill Perkins, Wayne Marsh (tenor saxophone); Jack Shelton, Pete Candoli, Conte Candoli (trumpet); Stanley Cowell, George Cables, Pete Jolly, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar); Jimmy Bond, Joe Mondragon, Paul Chambers (bass); Mel Lewis, Philly Joe Jones (drums).

Producers: Lester Koenig, Ed Michel, Laurie Pepper.