Art Pepper - The Last Concert

[GA Russell]

Lots of exciting news! I received the following press release today:

Art Pepper's "The Last Concert,"

Recorded at Kennedy Center,

To Be Released May 30

On 25th Anniversary of Art's Final Performance

New CD is 2nd Release from Widow's Taste Records

in a Series of "Unreleased Art"

May 2, 2007

Art Pepper's stunning last concert -- of his last tour -- took place on May 30, 1982 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, as part of the Kool Jazz Festival. Ten days later, back home in Los Angeles, Pepper was hospitalized for what turned out to be a cerebral hemorrhage. He died on June 15 at the age of 56.

The Kennedy Center performance will be released later this month, on the 25th anniversary of the concert, by Laurie Pepper and her Widow's Taste label. The Last Concert is the second in a series of "Unreleased Art" projects documenting the late alto saxophonist's prodigious output.

With Pepper at Kennedy Center was a slightly modified version of his working quartet of the time: David Williams, bass; Carl Burnett, drums; and on piano, Roger Kellaway. Pepper's longtime regular pianist, George Cables, had recently taken a more lucrative job, as Sarah Vaughan's music director. To replace him, Laurie had chosen Kellaway, whom she describes in her notes as "an extraordinary technician and performer in the fiery, ornamental mold of [former Pepper pianist] Milcho Leviev."

The show was taped for broadcast by Voice of America. Laurie Pepper writes that Benny Goodman, one of the evening's attractions, reportedly refused to have his set recorded because he believed that "VOA was staffed by Nazi war criminals." But Laurie recalled hearing Leviev describe how, growing up in Bulgaria, he had treasured VOA's clandestine broadcasts. After being assured by the VOA representative that Goodman's accusation was ungrounded, she consented to the taping.

Pepper was prepared to play a 70-minute set that evening, but due to a misunderstanding or miscommunication, he was forced to curtail his performance after not quite one hour. His set consisted of three originals -- "Landscape," "Ophelia" (a "feeble attempt" to convey "a little of my feelings about women"), "Mambo Koyama" -- and the standards "Over the Rainbow," a favorite ballad, and "When You're Smiling," a clarinet feature dedicated to Zoot Sims, who was on the bill at the Kennedy Center that night and had visited Art in the green room.

Widow's Taste: Music and Film

Laurie Pepper founded the Widow's Taste label in 2006. Its name refers to both senses of "taste"; its mission is to highlight her musical choices from her extensive archives ("Art was recorded everywhere he went," she notes) and to counteract the financial ramifications of piracy and neglected contracts.

The debut Widow's Taste release, in December 2006, was a 2-CD set entitled The Complete Abashiri Concert, recorded in Abashiri, Japan on November 22, 1981 with the George Cables/David Williams/Carl Burnett quartet.

Two other projects are currently in the works. A 3-CD package called The Art History Project will document very early Art (with Shorty Rogers and others), middle Art (unreleased Contemporary Records material), and final Art (studio and live performances of his last years). "I want to show Art's development as an artist," Laurie explains. "There's always the lyricism, and there's the soulfulness he never was without -- the solid funky bottom to his sound that he always had, from his Central Avenue upbringing. And then, during the '60s, he went into a very outside sound like Coltrane. But later it all came together for him: you can hear that happen in The Trip and the Village Vanguard recordings."

Laurie also has tapes of 1979 performances of Art at Ronnie Scott's. An album's worth of material from the gig was previously released as The Milcho Leviev Quartet (Art was under contract to Galaxy at the time) and "was a huge success in the U.K.," she says. "The sound quality was perfect." She plans to feature the Ronnie Scott's recordings in a fall 2007 or spring 2008 release.

An ongoing related project is Straight Life, the film-in-progress based on the like-titled Pepper autobiography (written by Art and Laurie). The movie combines live action and documentary with fanciful animated footage to illustrate Art's stories -- told in his own compelling voice retrieved from taped, archival Straight Life interviews. Additional "narration" is supplied by Art's musical voice: his performances of his original autobiographical compositions. Clips are posted on YouTube as well as on the movie web site. Part 1 of this film is planned for video release in late 2008.

[jlhoots]

Sounds good.

[John L]

Pepper's longtime regular pianist, George Cables, had recently taken a more lucrative job, as Sarah Vaughan's music director. To replace him, Laurie had chosen Kellaway, whom she describes in her notes as "an extraordinary technician and performer in the fiery, ornamental mold of [former Pepper pianist] Milcho Leviev."

Laurie chose Art's pianists???

[Ron S]

Now available at CD Baby.

[Chuck Nessa]

Pepper's longtime regular pianist, George Cables, had recently taken a more lucrative job, as Sarah Vaughan's music director. To replace him, Laurie had chosen Kellaway, whom she describes in her notes as "an extraordinary technician and performer in the fiery, ornamental mold of [former Pepper pianist] Milcho Leviev."

Laurie chose Art's pianists???

Near the end of Art's life I had a long conversation with Art and Laurie about pianists. Kellaway was with the band and they seemed "startled" by my suggestion of Stanley Cowell as my choice. Laurie quickly told me more recordings with Cowell would follow.

[John L]

Pepper's longtime regular pianist, George Cables, had recently taken a more lucrative job, as Sarah Vaughan's music director. To replace him, Laurie had chosen Kellaway, whom she describes in her notes as "an extraordinary technician and performer in the fiery, ornamental mold of [former Pepper pianist] Milcho Leviev."

Laurie chose Art's pianists???

Near the end of Art's life I had a long conversation with Art and Laurie about pianists. Kellaway was with the band and they seemed "startled" by my suggestion of Stanley Cowell as my choice. Laurie quickly told me more recordings with Cowell would follow.

Strange that they would be startled, considering how well this one turned out with Cowell:

[jazz1]

Now available at CD Baby.

Checking the CD Universe site they are also announcing

a JVC release which to me looks the same as Vol 1 advertised on CD BABY

I wonder if it is?? The price is nearly double.

[Claude Schlouch]

Now available at CD Baby.

Checking the CD Universe site they are also announcing

a JVC release which to me looks the same as Vol 1 advertised on CD BABY

I wonder if it is?? The price is nearly double.

I think that they announce the japanese issue (VICJ 61503), hence the price.

[Claude Schlouch]

Now available at CD Baby.

Checking the CD Universe site they are also announcing

a JVC release which to me looks the same as Vol 1 advertised on CD BABY

I wonder if it is?? The price is nearly double.

I think that they announce the japanese issue (VICJ 61503), hence the price.

I checked the CD Universe site. They announce the japanese release (VICJ 61503), hence nearly the double price.

[Ken Dryden]

I just received both of Art Pepper's CDs issued by Widow's Taste and what I've heard so far is exceptional.

[GA Russell]

I received my advance copy of The Last Concert yesterday, and I have played it five times already.

I don’t recall another album about which I can say that the time passes so quickly. The first time I played it it seemed to last a half hour. There are only five songs, but each is of a different tempo and style. The concert including three minutes of patter lasted 58 minutes.

I imagine that most people will be interested in this because it was Art’s last performance. I was looking forward to hearing this, but not for that reason. I can see someone planning to retire, going out on a farewell tour, and pulling out all the stops for the last show. But Art didn’t know that this would be his last gig, so I didn’t see any reason to expect that his performance would be better than usual. I wouldn’t say that it is, but it’s great!

My interest in hearing this was based on my curiosity to hear Art with Roger Kellaway. Kellaway is a player that I have heard of for years, going back at least to seeing his name on the credits of All in the Family (whose theme he wrote), but I don’t have any of his records. I have a vague notion that I saw something of his on the A&M label, but maybe not.

Kellaway does a fine job comping, and he takes the lead in keeping the band swinging. But I don’t find the chords he plays very interesting, and for that reason I find him a little bit disappointing. He is a little bland.

David Williams, on the other hand, is excellent on bass. And the bass is perfectly mic’d!

I suppose that it is ironic that the last song Art performed in public was on clarinet. But it is fitting that his last performance on the sax was Over the Rainbow.

Laurie Pepper wrote the liner notes. Either she has a good editor or she has a real talent for writing. They are the most interesting notes I have read in a long time.

Highly recommended. 5 stars.

[GA Russell]

Listened to it two more times today. Still not tired of it after seven times in three days!

I would like to add to my review that I think the reason time passes so quickly when I listen to it is because it swings so well.

John L mentioned Art Pepper Today above. I like that one a lot. I don't think that Art plays better on this one than he did on Today. And I find Stanley Cowell a more interesting pianist than Kellaway.

But I prefer this to Today because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And I think that is because it swings so well. And for that I give credit to Kellaway.

[jazz1]

I received my advance copy of The Last Concert yesterday, and I have played it five times already.

Highly recommended. 5 stars.

Is the audio as good as Vol 1 (The Japanese concert)

Thanks

jazz1

[GA Russell]

jazz1, I haven't heard The Abashiri Concert yet, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

[jazz1]

jazz1, I haven't heard The Abashiri Concert yet, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

[jazz1]

jazz1, I haven't heard The Abashiri Concert yet, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

The Abashiri concert is also fantastic, but listening on line Vol 2 audio quality

did not seem that good??

I tend to be too facy I like good music with good sound.

jazz1

[straightlife]

Pepper's longtime regular pianist, George Cables, had recently taken a more lucrative job, as Sarah Vaughan's music director. To replace him, Laurie had chosen Kellaway, whom she describes in her notes as "an extraordinary technician and performer in the fiery, ornamental mold of [former Pepper pianist] Milcho Leviev."

Laurie chose Art's pianists???

Near the end of Art's life I had a long conversation with Art and Laurie about pianists. Kellaway was with the band and they seemed "startled" by my suggestion of Stanley Cowell as my choice. Laurie quickly told me more recordings with Cowell would follow.

Strange that they would be startled, considering how well this one turned out with Cowell:

Okay, First of all, I did not choose Art's pianists, unless there was an emergency. Like there was for that tour. At those times, of course I discussed it all with Art -- and usually had my way. The reason Art preferred that I do the hiring was that he was extremely sensitive about hurting people's feelings-- so he could plead innocence if anyone asked him why he didn't hire THEM.

He just really hated hiring and firing. Hated it.

Of course, I had my preferences. I loved George Cables, personally and professionally, but I might have liked Stanley Cowell's playing as well or even better. I remember having a long conversation with Gary Giddins in New York, where I said that I thought Stanley was grossly underrated. Gary agreed. Stanley was on the Art Pepper Today album, AND the Winter Moon album AND the One September Afternoon album. Ed Michel, the producer, was responsible for Stanley's presence on all those albums. Stanley played with Art for about a week in New York at Fat Tuesdays in April of 82. I hired him for that one. He is a great great pianist. -- Laurie

[GA Russell]

Art Pepper's "The Last Concert,"

To Be Released May 30

On 25th Anniversary of Art's Final Performance

That's today!

[John L]

It is here in Russia (where I am at the moment). But it should still be the 29th in North Carolina.

[GA Russell]

Hey, you're right John! I'm so used to CDs coming out on Tuesdays that I didn't think it through. Today is Tuesday, isn't it?

[Lazaro Vega]

Art Pepper

Laurie Pepper, the widow of the great jazz saxophonist

Art Pepper, has started putting out some of his

excellent unreleased recordings on her label, Widow’s

Taste (straightlife.info). The first two volumes of

“Unreleased Art” are concerts from near the end of Mr.

Pepper’s life: “The Complete Abashiri Concert,” from

Japan in 1981, and his final show, at the Kennedy

Center in 1982. I prefer the first, but both are

fascinating reminders of how different the jazz

mainstream sounded then. Not just Mr. Pepper, with his

sharpish tone and voluminous outpouring. (He had a

late-career fascination with John Coltrane, and his

playing took on a kind of compulsively self-revealing

aspect.) I mean everyone in the quartet: the pianist

George Cables, the bassist David Williams and the

drummer Carl Burnett. Saxophone notes fly, piano

chords are dense, cymbal sounds carpet the rhythm.

Jazz was still in the era of the heroic statement. BEN

RATLIFF

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/arts/mus....html?ref=music