Art Pepper
Meets The Rhythm Section

An album born under the worst premises.

Art Pepper, one of the leading names in Californian cool jazz, learned about the session only on the morning of the recordings; he hadn't played for a couple of weeks, and his alto sax was in terrible condition, as was his health undermined by excesses. Moreover, he didn't know the pieces he was supposed to play!

Lester Koenig, the president of Contemporary Records, didn't want to miss the opportunity: the quintessential rhythm section ("The Rhythm Section," with capital letters), namely that of Miles Davis's quintet with John Coltrane, was in Los Angeles in January '57 for a series of concerts, and he could finally pair Art with musicians of the same caliber, documenting the results on record of a historic encounter between West Coast cool and New York hard bop.

And the results simply led to the creation of Art Pepper's masterpiece, the album recognized as the most representative, the most important of his career.

Regarding The Rhythm Section, we are obviously talking about these musicians: Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on double bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums, three figures who gave a significant push forward to the development of modern interplay concepts.

The four Prestige masterpieces of Davis's so-called First Great Quintet, namely: "Cookin'", "Relaxin'", "Workin'" and "Steamin'", are the most vivid testimony of this statement and are milestones of jazz.

Throughout the album, the best qualities of all the participants are highlighted: the beautiful timbre and phrasing of Art, elegant yet pungent, Garland's typical "block chords" piano style, the swing and soloing (exceptional with the bow) of Chambers, and the rhythmic locomotive of Jones, powerful, puffing and clattering yet capable of delicacy with brushes and cymbals when the situation demands.

One of the album's highest moments is undoubtedly the opening track, Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", where Pepper plays by ear, turning necessity into virtue, and unleashes creativity and spontaneity resulting in instant high-level composition! Every note is in the right place, the rhythmic engine is at full throttle, and the piece's euphoria is contagious and relaxing. A magical moment comes at the end of the introduction when Jones switches to sticks, and the swing takes flight. This is followed by each one's solos and another magical moment, the textbook trading of fours between sax and drums.

Also excellent is the rendition of "Tin Tin Deo", a famous Latin piece by Chano Pozo, arranged with intelligence and effectiveness to make its rhythm even more compelling, able to move the listener's body from start to finish. In this piece (and many other moments of the album), Pepper seems almost a wonderful hybrid between Charlie Parker and Paul Desmond, alternating during his solo sudden and energetic accelerations with sophisticated slow and calm refinements.

The third gem of the album is the reckless "Straight Life", a chaotic breakneck ride overcoming every obstacle, a true lesson in instrumental mastery. Note the irony of the title, which could be translated as "regular life," the life Pepper never had; in this regard, see his autobiography, ironically and similarly titled, "Straight Life."

Besides these three highlights, there are also "Imagination", a beautiful standard by Burke and Van Heusen, and two heartfelt tributes, a "Star Eyes" that looks back to the aforementioned Parker, its greatest interpreter, and a "Birks Work" ideally dedicated to its composer, Dizzy Gillespie.

Less inspired moments, yet enjoyable and well-executed, are two little blues hastily composed for the occasion, Garland's "Red Pepper Blues", actually a rather indecorous rip-off of the famous "Bag's Groove" by Milt Jackson, and "Waltz Me Blues", an innocuous waltz by Pepper and Chambers.

In those times, they churned out a masterpiece in just under five hours, truly a different era...

Rating: 4.5