The story goes that in 1977, Japanese label
Atlas approached saxophonist and erstwhile cool jazz star
Art Pepper about possibly doing some recording. Notoriously,
Pepper had spent the better part of the prior 20 years in and out of prison and toiling with drug addiction. By the late '70s however, with his wife and then manager
Laurie Pepper's help, he had resurrected his career. Subsequently, labels like
Atlas were once again hoping to recapture
Pepper's distinctive sound on record. To avoid violating his contract with
Fantasy/Galaxy,
Pepper decided to appear as a sideman on the recordings, bringing on various "headliners" to release under. For his third
Atlas date, 1980's
Strike Up the Band: Pete Jolly & His West Coast Friends,
Pepper hired longtime West Coast pianist
Jolly, with whom he had previously recorded the classic 1956
Chet Baker album
Playboys. Joining them were bassist
Bob Magnusson and drummer
Roy McCurdy. The 2017
Omnivore compilation,
Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions, Vol. 2: Pete Jolly, brings together all of the tracks recorded at the session. Also included are liner notes from compilation producer
Laurie Pepper. Primarily, this is a brightly swinging affair that balances the cool lyricism of the saxophonist's early years with the bluesy, post-
John Coltrane harmonic maturity that marked his latter career. Here, we get a handful of lyrical, if sanguinely delivered standards, including a sprightly take on the
George Gershwin title track, a soulful, Latin-tinged rendition of
Cole Porter's "Night and Day," and a jaggedly buoyant version of
Harry Barris' "I Surrender Dear," with
Pepper gritting into the melody like he's brushing a cavity. Similarly engaging is the ensemble's soulful, delicately funky version of
Pepper's "Y.I. Blues," of which we also get two worthy alternate versions accented by some candid, between-take studio chatter. However, it's their dusky, bittersweet reading of Matt Dennis' "Everything Happens to Me" that sticks with you. Played at the tempo of a slow tide with
Pepper's mournfully sweet alto at the crest, it evokes a noir-ish West Coast romanticism. It's almost as if
Pepper is looking back through the hazy corridor of sex, drugs, and smoky late-night gigs that stretch back to the '50s. ~ Matt Collar
