#music, Talking About Art, Art Pepper that is!

Oi, so today I am going to stray a little bit from my usual path, but not so much, because if music is poetry and they say that so is art, then I am speaking of the same thing. I do believe art, music and poetry are sewn together with the Golden Fleece that Jason searched for with his Argonauts…

What? Ok, I’ll get to the point…

Art Pepper was an incredible musician. He was born on September 1, 1925 in California and passed away 56 years later. His musical career was quite short because it was interrupted multiple times. First, he spent time in prison which took away several years of his career, and then he had to undergo rehabilitation for his heroin addiction. However, despite these obstacles, Pepper was able to establish himself as one of the greats, alongside the key players who pioneered «Cool Jazz» or «West Coast Jazz.» One of those significant figures was Gerry Mulligan, who collaborated with Miles Davis on the influential recording called «Birth of the Cool.»

But I’m talking about Art Pepper, and as I said earlier, the guy was amazing. He himself claimed to be a genius and said he didn’t know anyone else who played the saxophone like he did. Who does this remind me of? Dalí? No… Pepper was a real genius…

Pepper was a true paradox of a guy, I mean to the nth degree. He could compose a ballad for you, sweet, smooth, and sensual, and at the same time, he would tell you that being a great jazz musician is similar to being a great criminal, and that he was willing to do anything, for example, to kill anyone who messed with his woman. I don’t criticize him, I admire him, and he is right, a man should defend his woman and his home…

One of Art Pepper’s most famous themes is the ballad «Patricia,» which he composed in 1978 for his daughter. It so happened that while he was in prison, his ex-wife brought Patricia, who was about twelve years old at the time, with the intention of showing the girl that her father was nothing more than a caged monster among all the others there. In other words, her father lives locked up, alongside the dregs of society, because he deserves it, because he is like that too. When Pepper encountered Patricia again, she was in her thirties and he called her to wish her a Happy Christmas, and she responded by saying that she knew he was nothing more than a criminal and a rapist, that she had read the book.*

When Pepper was discharged from the methadone clinic, where he had overcome his heroin addiction, he resumed playing and composing music. He formed a band with talented musicians and embarked on a tour of Europe and Japan. He recorded multiple albums for Galaxy Records, the subsidiary of Fantasy Records. His latest albums were Living Legend, Art Pepper Today, Among Friends, and Live in Japan.

Art Pepper died from a stroke. He abused his body heavily throughout his life, and although he had recovered from drug addiction, his body remained weakened and couldn’t survive the stroke. He passed away in 1982 in Los Angeles and is buried in the Abbey of the Psalms mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

I am not interested in the bad things he might have done. I don’t judge. To me, he is a genius of Jazz and one of my favourite musicians and composers. I admire him as a jazz player, period…

* In 1980, Art Pepper and Laurie Pepper, his third wife, published their autobiography titled «Straight Life.» The book spoke about the criminal underworld where Pepper lived during the 1940s and 1950s. Among the anecdotes was one in which Pepper boasts of having raped a woman in London during World War II, because in his mind she deserved it. Due to the publication of the book, director Don McGlynn made the documentary titled «Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor.» The documentary features direct interviews with Pepper and Laurie, and includes a recording of a concert at the Malibu Jazz Club. I highly recommend it.

Cheers…