Customer Reviews

Art Pepper + Eleven

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

With Marty Paich arranging, and a gang of top-notch West-coast players backing him up, Art Pepper recorded this stunner in 1959. Incredibly tight, snappy, and playful--and veritably levitating in Paich's trademark walls of cascading harmony-- it sounds as fresh and ebullient as any collection of bebop/cool jazz standards recorded before or since. Art Pepper, though in top form, by no means hogs the stage here: Everybody shines, everybody blends magnificently, and not a single note is flubbed or fudged. A MUST for Art Pepper fans, West Coast fans, and big band fans. In my opinion, it ranks among the top 100 (or at least 200) jazz records of all time.

MAR 14/59- Art Pepper(cl,as,ts)Pete Candoli Jack Sheldon(tp)Bob Enevoldsen(v-tb,ts)Vince Derosa(fhr)Herb Geller(as)Dick Nash(tb)Bill Perkins(ts)Med Flory(bar)Russ Freeman(p)Joe Mondragon(b)Mel Lewis(d)

Tracks: Opus De Funk, Round About Midnight, Walkin Shoes, Airegin

MAR 28/59- Al Porcino(tp)Bud Shank(as) replace Candoli and Geller

Tracks: Groovin High, Shaw Nuff, Donna Lee (Orig Tk), Donna Lee (Tk 1), Anthropology (AP plays cl)

MAY 12/59- Charlie Kennedy(as,ts)Richie Kamuca(ts) replace Shank and Perkins

Tracks: Move, Four Brothers, Walkin (Orig Tk), Walkin (Tk 1), Walkin (Tk 2), Bernie's Tune

The first time I played this CD I was astounded at the quality of Art Pepper's sound. He is so tight, expressive and dexterous that it is no wonder that Art Pepper placed second behind Charlie Parker in a 1951 "Down beat" magazine poll. He plays so well in the high register that the only other sax players of comparable quality are either Charlie Parker or Stan Getz.

The songs on this album are all covers of modern jazz classics; and I don't use the word "classics" lightly. He covers such jazz masters as: Dizzy, Monk, Rollins Mulligan, Bird and others. I think all of the original artists covered here must of been floored over how well this album came out.

The arranging on this album is masterful. Marty Paich set up an infrastructure that just lets Pepper tear into it. And when he does, you just say "wow!"

Some brand name musicians contribute here such as trumpet player, Jack Sheldon; (Merv Griffin's band leader, and also a former vocalist on the "School house Rock" series), Bill Perkins, Russ Freeman and many more contribute as well.

The liner motes are pretty good though they do label Art Pepper a tenor sax player rather than an alto. That's a huge, unforgivable, error but the history of the CD and the quotes by Marty Paich are thoughtful and nice.

This CD is up there with "The Birth of Cool"! It is that important of a contribution to the art of jazz.

This is some spectacular, immortal music. It is surely one of the most stunning and complete examples of the art of Jazz playing, improvising, composing and arranging. So you have the full picture of what the art of modern jazz is all about in one single album. Here you have some of the greatest modern jazz compositions (from Parker's, Gillespie's, Mulligan's etc songbooks), a spectacular arranger in charge (Marty Paich), an incredible soloist, one of the greatest sax player in the history of jazz music and a very tight small-big band roaring. I'd rate this album surely among, not the best 100 jazz albums of all time, but I would rate it among the best 25 for sure. Maybe it could be even in my top ten (and I own 7000 jazz cds at this time). I have listened to this one thousands of times and it has never tired me. It is still one of the best Art Pepper recordings for sure. Probably I am more affected to Surf Ride where he plays magnificiently in combo format, but Plus Eleven is still among his three or four most important albums (Plus rhythmn section, Surf Ride, everything from his fifties period) and one of the most important album in the history of Jazz music. I prefer Art's "Plus Eleven" to "Birth of the cool" from Miles Davis two albums often compared. Plus eleven swings a lot more and it is a lot more hard driven, which for me it's a plus! Buy it and scream with me, "JAZZ"!

Art Pepper recorded this classic back in 1959 and walked away with a masterpiece. The quality of the recording alone is a lesson in microphone placement, but the lively, fresh, and alive playing by the band members must have blown the roof off of the studio. Anyone interested in the "cool" west coast jazz sound of the late 50's could use this album as thier bible. A delight to listen to over and over, I would count this as one of the top 100 albums ever recorded.

as everyone says here, one of the best. The playing is consistently great and the charts phenomenal. The thing I love about it most is the swagger, the attitude, the effortless playing of some really intricate 5 part harmonies with an utterly confident stylist out front. One of the all time greats of the jazz canon.

Nothing need be added. He nailed it. Certainly one of the very finest CDs ever, period.

In my humble opinion,this recording along with "Meets The Rhythm Section" are Art's two greatest recordings, and confirm his legacy as one of the greatest improvisors in modern jazz history. The charts by the great Marty Paich are a perfect showcase for Art on alto, tenor AND clarinet-- (Dig his solo on "Anthropology.") Art's great lead alto is in evidence on "Grooving High" and "Airegin." "Round Midnight" stands as a perfect blend of arrangement and solo--my favorite cut on the CD. Needless to say, the playing by the ensemble is peerless, thanks to a lineup of West Coast all-stars. Jack Sheldon contributes some of his best recorded solos as Art's front-line partner. I've owned this as an LP since my high school days in the early 1960s and it remains one of my all-time favorites. I never tire of listening to it. A timeless classic.

This 1959 Los Angeles recording is a great example Marty Paich's incredible arrangement prowness, and Art Pepper's command of a small big band. The band takes on 12 standards from the likes of Gillespie, Parker, Monk, and Sonny Rollins, among others, and turns in highly innovative performances that never lose their focus. Art Pepper has several solos that really swing (Bird's "Donna Lee"). Great sounding recording as well. Highly recommended, especially if you want to bridge the gap between 40's Big Bands and Bop Combo's of the 50's.

looking for some jazz that's busy and going places? something uptempo and fine? well, here you have it. this is an outstanding album of energetic jazz. with all the players involved here, and the pace that they go at it, it's amazing how precise everything comes out. each instrument, each note seems about as right as it should be. very very entertaining, indeed.

I own an original vinyl of this, which I purchased while in college in the early 1960's. I would be surprised, today, if there is any music left in the grooves!

As others have stated, this has to be one of the top jazz recordings of all-times. It has one of the best alto players, beside Bird, one of the best jazz ensemble arrangers of all-times (Marty Paich) and a modest-crew of some of LA's finest session-players of the late 50's/early 60's.

I had the pleasure of talking with Jack Sheldon about this very session, one evening, during his break, subbing for Conte Condoli, out at Shelly's Manne Hole. I just had to know how that Marty Paich Dek-tette was just so "tight" on this recording, and Jack told me the group actually got together before the session, out at Alveno Rey's (Alveno was the musical director for the King Sisters) house and read and rehearsed the charts, before the recording sessions.

I have always marveled at what a great orchestrator Marty Paich happened to be, especially how well he could put a chart together for his Dek-tette-sized band. He could produce some great tone colors out of this unique instrumentation.

For those of you who are trombone-players and bass trombone players, that is Dick Nash on bass bone. According to Dick's story, George Roberts was busy on these session-dates and I believe sold Dick one of his extra Conn 70H's and Dick went on the session and sounded.......great, as you can hear! I ask Dick about this, at an International Trombone Festival, out in Salt Lake and Dick relayed the story of how he ended up on bass bone for this historical event.