Art Pepper - Living Legend
Year: 1975 (Contemporary)
Label: OJC (1992)
Total time: 48:48
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Art Pepper, one of the major bop altoists to emerge during the '50s, started his comeback with this excellent set, Living Legend.  

After 15 years filled with prison time and fighting drug addiction, Pepper was finally ready to return to jazz.  Accompanied by three of 

his old friends (pianist Hampton Hawes, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Shelly Manne), Pepper displays a more explorative and 

darker style than he had previously.  He also shows a greater emotional depth in his improvisations and was open to some of the 

innovations of the avant-garde in his search for greater self-expression.  Although this recording would be topped by the ones to 

come, the music (five Pepper originals and an intense version of "Here's That Rainy Day" ) is quite rewarding. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

Living Legend. A perfectly chosen title for this 1975 recording of Art Pepper, for a legend he most certainly was, though some would 

have doubted that he was even alive at the time.  Years spent in various prisons (San Quentin the most notorious among them) and 

at Synanon trying to get his life back in order had kept him well away from the limelight.  His last albums as a leader were released 

way back in 1960, and Art Pepper seemed to have vanished off the bandstand for good, due to his "personal problems", as 

drug-problems were usually referred to in those days.  Record producer Lester Koenig, who had been Pepper's staunchest 

supporter and backer throughout the 1950's, brought Pepper's career back to life by having him record a comeback album for his 

'Contemporary' label. Backed by a brilliant rhythm section of Hampton Hawes (piano), Charlie Haden (bass) and Shelly Manne 

(drums), Art Pepper's alto is the true star of this brilliant album. The emotion he puts into tunes like "Here's that rainy day", "Ophelia" 

and especially the unforgettable "Lost Life" is unique and heart-wrenching in all its beauty. Having squandered so many years 

behind bars and inside the Synanon institute, Pepper played as if every note could be his last, and he gave his all to convey his 

emotions through his horn while he still had the chance. The track "Lost Life" must rank among one of the most beautiful, most 

personal and most unforgettable of all jazz-recordings.  However much he made a mess of his personal life (read his painfully 

honest autobiography "Straight Life" ), in his music Pepper seemed determined to put all the beauty and love he had so sorely 

lacked during most of his childhood and during his drug-related lock-ups.  The rhythm section almost seem afraid to interfere in 

what was so obviously a cry straight from the heart, so they carefully choose every accompanying note, leaving the scene clear for 

Pepper's alto to tell its sad, but beautiful story of a life that had been wasted, were it not for Pepper's exquisite taste and uniquely 

enchanting sound, which temporarily managed to chase away his demons, as if nothing had ever happened. ~ Johan Adams

Personnel:
Art Pepper (Alto Saxophone) 
Hampton Hawes (Piano) 
Charlie Haden (Double Bass) 
Shelly Manne (Drums) 

Art Pepper - Living Legend Tracks:
01 Ophelia (Art Pepper) 7:54 
02 Here's That Rainy Day (James Van Heusen/Johnny Burke) 5:42 
03 What Laurie Likes (Art Pepper) 6:44 
04 Mr. Yohe (Art Pepper) 7:13 
05 Lost Life (Art Pepper) 5:57 
06 Samba Mom-Mom (Art Pepper) 8:19 
07 Samba Mom-Mom (alternate track) (Art Pepper) 6:59