Gettin' Together (Remastered 2024) Art Pepper, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb

• 1 Whims Of Chambers (Remastered 2024) 06:56
• 2 Bijou The Poodle (Remastered 2024) 05:58
• 3 Why Are We Afraid? (Remastered 2024) 03:36
• 4 Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise (Remastered 2024) 06:58
• 5 Rhythm-A-Ning (Remastered 2024) 07:17
• 6 Diane (Remastered 2024) 05:06
• 7 Gettin' Together (Original Take / Remastered 2024) 06:57
• Total Runtime 42:48

Info for Gettin' Together (Remastered 2024)

Art Pepper und das Miles Davis Quintet Rhythm Department. Das komplette Original-Album Gettin Together von Art Pepper (Contemporary S7573). Die Aufnahme stammt aus dem Jahr 1957 und die Rhythmusgruppe des Titels war die ganz besondere des damaligen Miles Davis Quintetts: Red Garland, Klavier; Paul Chambers, Bass; Philly Joe Jones, Schlagzeug. Diese Aufnahme ist mit der (wiederum speziellen) Miles Davis-Rhythmusgruppe vom Februar 1960 entstanden. Paul Chambers ist immer noch dabei, Wynton Kelly spielt Klavier, Jimmie Cobb ist am Schlagzeug. Die damalige Aufnahme entstand unter Druck, denn die Gruppe stand nicht nur nur kurzzeitig zur Verfügung, Pepper selbst hatte vor der Aufnahme zwei Wochen lang nicht gespielt. Für diese Aufnahme war die Davis-Gruppe wieder nur kurz in der Stadt, und wieder gab es nur eine Aufnahmesitzung. Das letzte Stück, Gettin Together, das entstand, weil Art einen Blues mit Tenorstimme aufnehmen wollte, besteht nur aus Pepper, Kelly und den anderen, die ad lib. spielen, während das Band weiterläuft.

„Als eine Art Fortsetzung von Art Peppers Zusammenspiel mit dem Trio von Miles Davis in dem Klassiker Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section von 1957 setzt Pepper auf diesem Beinahe-Klassiker von 1960 Davis' Begleitmusiker ein. Neben dem Pianisten Wynton Kelly, dem Bassisten Paul Chambers und dem Schlagzeuger Jimmy Cobb macht der Trompeter Conte Candoli die Gruppe bei vier der acht Stücke zu einem Quintett. Dieses Mal legt Pepper keinen Wert auf Standards, sondern spielt nur drei („Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise“, Thelonious Monks „Rhythm-A-Ning“ und „The Way You Look Tonight“) und nimmt drei eigene Stücke auf: „Diane„, ‚Bijou the Poodle‘ und ‚Gettin‘ Together“. Die Musik ist sehr straight-ahead und bop-orientiert, aber wie immer bringt Pepper etwas sehr Persönliches und Einzigartiges in sein Spiel ein; er klingt wie kein anderer. [Einige Wiederveröffentlichungen fügen dem Originalrepertoire „The Way You Look Tonight“ (früher nur auf einer anderen LP erhältlich) und eine alternative Aufnahme des Titelstücks hinzu."] (Scott Yanow, AMG)

Art Pepper, Alt- und Tenorsaxophon
Conte Candoli, Trompete (Tracks 1, 2 und 5)
Wynton Kelly, Klavier
Paul Chambers, Bass
Jimmy Cobb, Schlagzeug

Digitally remastered

Art Pepper
born in Gardena, California on September 1, 1925 and raised in nearby San Pedro, began playing clarinet at age 9 and, by 15, was performing in Lee Young’s band at the Club Alabam on Central Avenue, the home of jazz in prewar Los Angeles.

He joined Stan Kenton’s band, touring the U.S. and gaining fame, but was drafted in 1943 serving as an MP in London and performing with some British jazz bands. He returned to the States and to Kenton, touring and recording. In 1952 he placed second only to Charlie Parker in the Down Beat jazz poll. Probably his most famous recording from that period is his stunning performance of “Art Pepper,” written by Shorty Rogers (as part of a series of charts Kenton had commissioned to feature members of his band).

Art left Stan Kenton in 1951 to form his own group, occasionally recording for Rogers and others. He signed with Contemporary Records in 1957.

From the beginning Art’s playing combined a tender delicacy of tone with a purity of narrative line—a gift for storytelling that was made irresistible by an inherent, dancing, shouting, moaning inability to ever stop swinging.

He was one of the few alto players to resist the style and tone of Charlie Parker. What he failed to resist was the lure of drugs, ubiquitous, at that time, among jazz musicians. And although some users managed to get through and over their addictions, Art, survivor of a rocky childhood (alcoholic neglectful mother, alcoholic violent father), unbalanced from the get-go, never did quite triumph over his, though he may have fought them to a draw.

So, in 1952, he began a long series of hospitalizations and incarcerations for violations of the drug laws of his time—possession, internal possession (“marks”), and then for violations of his previous releases (more possessions and internal possessions). In time, he became a petty thief, a real thief, a robber (though not an armed robber; his fellow criminals thought he was too crazy to be trusted with a gun). He served time for the Feds (Terminal Island) and for the State of California (San Quentin). He prided himself on being “a stand-up guy,” a good criminal.

All this history makes a pretty gripping story as it’s told by Art with his wife Laurie Pepper in their book, Straight Life (DaCapo). What’s surprising is that the music he managed to make during irregular bursts of freedom was enthralling, too. The gift was starved for the spotlight, for opportunities for performing and recording, but it flowered in the dark, became deeper and more soulful. The performances—from The Art Pepper Quartet (1952) and Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (with Miles Davis’s rhythm section) on Contemporary (1957) all the way through the recordings he made at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1977) and his later recording with strings (Winter Moon, Galaxy, 1981)—are brilliant, poignant, and a joy to hear. The rigor and abandon with which he lived his life were present in every note he played.

Art Pepper died June 15, 1982 of a cerebral hemorrhage. But the 1979 publication of Straight Life and accompanying press had revived Art’s career. With Laurie’s help, he spent the last years of his life trying to make up for lost time, making each performance a life-or-death occasion, touring worldwide with his own bands, recording over a hundred albums, writing songs, winning polls, respect, and adulation.

Most of his albums are still available for sale. Laurie Pepper is releasing the best of what remains unreleased and is working on a movie based on the book, Straight Life. •

This album contains no booklet.