Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section

Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section is a 1957 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper playing with Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, who at the time were the rhythm section for Miles Davis's quintet.

According to legend, the album was recorded under enormous pressure: Pepper first learnt of it on the morning of the recording session, had never met the other musicians (though he admired them all), hadn't played for two weeks (according to the liner notes) or six months (according to Pepper's autobiography Straight Life), was playing on an instrument in a bad state of repair, and was suffering from a drug problem. (This story is clearly unreliable: the discography in Straight Life reveals, for instance, that he had recorded many sessions in the previous weeks, including one just five days before.) Whatever the truth of the recording's circumstances, it is considered a milestone in Pepper's career, and launched a series of albums for Les Koenig's Contemporary label which remain the cornerstone of Pepper's recorded work.

Track listing

1. "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" (Cole Porter) – 5:25
2. "Red Pepper Blues" (Red Garland) – 3:37
3. "Imagination" (Johnny Burke–Jimmy Van Heusen) – 5:52
4. "Waltz Me Blues" (Paul Chambers–Art Pepper) – 2:56
5. "Straight Life" (Art Pepper) – 3:59
6. "Jazz Me Blues" (Delaney) – 4:47
7. "Tin Tin Deo" (Fuller–Pozo) – 7:42
8. "Star Eyes" (DePaul–Raye) – 5:12
9. "Birks Works" (Dizzy Gillespie) – 4:17
10. "The Man I Love" (Georges & Ira Gershwin) – 6:36

(Recorded on 19 January 1957.)

Personnel

• Art Pepper - Alto Saxophone
• Red Garland - Piano
• Paul Chambers - Bass
• Philly Joe Jones - Drums

References

Sources

• Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, & Brian Priestley. Jazz: The Rough Guide. ISBN 1-85828-528-3
• Richard Cook & Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD 6th edition. ISBN 0-14-051521-6