Art Pepper - 12 Classic Albums 1954 -1962 (6CD)

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*** Résumé en anglais seulement ***This six CD set contains the 12 albums, in their newly digitised, re-mastered glory, that Pepper released between 1954 and 1962, the period during which he undoubtedly made the finest music of his career. Showcasing the most exhilarating and challenging work Art ever produced, the collection demonstrates lucidly why this pioneering musician continues to receive such vast acclaim and praise in the jazz community. American alto-saxophonist and clarinettist Art Pepper became known as one of the leading players of the 1950s, voted only second to Charlie Parker as Best Alto Sax player in Down Beat magazine s readers poll of 1952. Born Arthur Edward Pepper Jr., in Gardena, California, on September 1st, 1925, his mother had run away from home at 14; his father a merchant seaman. Both parents were violent alcoholics, and when Art was young he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother. He expressed early musical interest and talent, and began lessons soon thereafter. He was playing clarinet at nine, switched to alto saxophone at 13, and began jamming on Central Avenue, the black nightclub district of LA. At 17 he began playing professionally with Benny Carter and then became part of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, touring with the unit until he was drafted in 1943. After the war he returned to Los Angeles and joined the Kenton Innovations Orchestra. By the early 1950s, along with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and Shelly Manne, perhaps due more to geography than playing style, Pepper became associated with the West Coast Jazz movement, as contrasted with the East Coast (or hot ) Jazz associated with the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. During the 50s Pepper produced a number of the best regarded jazz albums of the decade, among them Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Art Pepper + Eleven - Modern Jazz Classics, Gettin' Together, and Smack Up. His career however was repeatedly interrupted by a number of stints in jail, a result of incidents of petty crime due largely to his ongoing heroin addiction. But Art was to have several memorable and productive comebacks following such unfortunate and unwanted intervals. Remarkably, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship throughout his career. His last comeback saw Pepper becoming a member of Buddy Rich's Big Band during 1968 and 1969. In the mid-1970s and early 1980s he toured Europe and Japan with his own groups and recorded dozens more albums, mostly for Fantasy Records. Pepper sadly died of a cerebral haemorrhage in LA on June 15th, 1982, at the age of 56. He is interred in the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood.