Unreleased Art, Vol. 3: The Croydon Concert, May 14, 1981

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Product Description This is the third official Widow's Taste release, direct from Laurie Pepper in Los Angeles. Remastered by Wayne Peet AND with a ten page booklet of info., gossip, and photos, all via the Widow: AT FAIRFIELD HALL, Croydon, England, in May of 1981, Art Pepper appeared with the quartet that had returned him to music. Together, they delivered to loyal and savvy British fans a dazzling performance of originals and bebop classics. VOLUME III: THE CROYDON CONCERT is is the first release by Laurie Pepper s Widow s Taste Records featuring the rhythm section that made up the Art Pepper Quartet from 1978 through most of 1981. They were indispensable to the alto saxophonist s triumphant return to the scene at the end of his life and functioned as both engine and anchor during much of that time. John S. Wilson praised them in the New York Times, saying they made Art s innate rhythmic drive even more buoyant and referring to Bob Magnusson as fabulously fast-fingered. Critic Gary Giddins, in The Village Voice, said Bob s sure time and rich tone in the bottom register complemented Pepper s frequently ethereal gambits and praised Carl Burnett s chatty responsiveness. Musician and critic Jon Hendricks called Milcho Leviev a most marvelous pianist, a real joy. He plays with beauty and passion. After his last long imprisonment in San Quentin during the 1960s, Art found reentry into music almost impossible. He d taken personally the surfacing of black rage into the supposedly sacred precincts of the jazz combo. After experiencing wounding slights and insults, Art, thin-skinned to begin with, became increasingly paranoid, hesitant to even try to work with some of the musicians he admired most. But this band of profoundly gifted jazzmen made him feel safe. These were not safe players, but instead challenged and provoked him to continue to develop his gifts and evolve as an artist. The Croydon recording was sent last year to Laurie Pepper, Art's widow, by a European fan who believed this particular music was too good to languish in the archives of collectors. Laurie agreed with him so thoroughly that she changed all her plans. She decided to make this concert the third in her label s critically acclaimed series of previously unreleased Art Pepper performances. Reviewers have responded enthusiastically to the two previous releases. Volume I from this series, another two-disc set, is The Abashiri Concert, recorded in Japan in 1981. Volume II is The Last Concert, recorded at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in 1982, documenting Art s last performance just weeks before his death: Jazz in the era of the heroic statement. Excellent. Ben Ratliff, New York Times Pepper blowing blues and ballads with a shivering intensity, as if each song recounted his own dreams and disappointments. Fred Kaplan, New York Times All but unprecedented. Both soul-searing and sentimental. Will Friedwald, New York Sun. The aims of Widow s Taste are to introduce truly unreleased and unheard music by Art Pepper to people who love him and want to hear him and to introduce him to people who have had only a limited experience with jazz and have never even imagined his unique brand of soul, swing, and loveliness. Review True jazz fans should be deeply indebted to Laurie Pepper. In the category of archival releases, a Grammy award should be set aside for Ms. Pepper for self-producing rare and valuable works for collectors of Art Pepper's discography. When our jazz masters pass away, we deeply mourn their passing for most often their discography has come to an end, and we are left with no new issues to savor and anticipate. A rare session is found now and then in the archives such as the recent Monk/Coltrane Carnegie Hall session, but this seldom happens. Two women come to mind for keeping the flames burning for their genius husbands. They are Sue Mingus on behalf of Charles, and Laurie Pepper, who on a shoestring budget and through blood, sweat, and tears, has self-released three issues of unreleased Art Pepper concerts from 1981-1982. The first two were from late 1981 in Japan, and May of 1982 in Washington, D.C. (just before Art's passing), which was Pepper's last recorded concert. The latest treasure, a 2-CD issue, from a Croydon, England concert is from May 14, 1981. Pepper was in a race to tour and perform for his adoring public - especially in Europe and Japan - as he knew his health was beginning to deteriorate, and the years between 1979 to 1981 were a time of non-stop touring in a seeming race to the finish line. Whereas Carl Burnett was a fixture on drums during most all of this period, George Cables, and Roger Kellaway occupied the piano chairs, for the first two Unreleased sessions. David Williams was the bassist for the first two issues. Here for the Croydon concert, Eastern European born Milcho Leviev was the pianist and Bob Magnusson is the bassist. Leviev, although lesser known than Cables and Kellaway, was more a firebrand than the other two piano players. According to Laurie, he could both inspire or infuriate Art depending on his mood, and his ability to overwhelm Art's playing when his obstinacy reared up. Magnusson, on the other hand was rock-steady and nurturing, while Burnett was the calm professional, always dependable and in tune with Art's passion. The tapes for the Croydon concert were provided to Laurie by an unnamed fan, an obsessive collector of bootleg Pepper concerts. The sound is surprisingly good and kudos should go to Wayne Peet for a brilliant remastering job. Ophelia and Goodbye are the only shared titles from the other two unreleased discs. Highlights here are plenty. Blues for Blanche, written for one of Art's cats, drips with blues lines - both from Art and Milcho's great solos. Magnusson's bass playing is brilliant and Burnett's cymbal work is a gas. Ophelia is lyrical Art at his best. I love Magnusson's accompaniment here and he is well mixed in the mastering. Patricia, written for Art's daughter, is exquisite and you can tell Art's emotions regarding Patricia are first and foremost on display here. On Disc Two, Cherokee is straight bebop and Milcho's solo shines in both its piano facility and bopability.; Goodbye, a grieving salute to Hampton Hawes, shows Pepper's gut-wrenching, pouring out his heart. In compositions like Goodbye, for raw emotion, Pepper is unsurpassed. You almost feel like he is spitting up blood in his solos, as the passion is so palpable. Bob Magnusson's bass work here amps up the emotion. Dedicated is a mini-blues described by Laurie Pepper as a quasi-Coltrane tune. Its value to Pepper completists is immense as Art only recorded it this one time. Make a List closes the second disc, and at over twenty minutes it is an emotional workout for all concerned. Everyone has a chance to shine. I have loved each of the Unreleased series, but I have to say that Vol. 3 is my favorite. Its combination of funky swinging blues combined with Art's lay-it-on-the-line blowing knocks me out. God bless you, Laurie, for these heretofore unreleased masterpieces. --Audiophile Audition: Jeff Krow