LIVING LEGEND/PEPPER

Description

This important album, released by Contemporary, documents Art Pepper's return to recording after fifteen years spent in prison and/or battling his addiction to prohibited substances. In 1976, he had recovered his health and was ready to make his comeback on the jazz scene. Magnificently accompanied by a top-notch rhythm section (Hampton Hawes, Charlie Haden, Shelly Manne), Pepper shows a more exploratory and darker side than in the past. His improvisations have more depth, and his expression seems more inspired by the avant-garde trends developing at the time. Five original compositions and an intense version of "Here's That Rainy Day" make up an album that reinstates the alto saxophonist to the position he should never have left: that of one of the greatest West Coast horn players in history.