Complete Village Vanguard Sessions

Art Pepper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 17, 1995)
• Original Release Date: April 18, 1995
• Number of Discs: 9
• Label: Contemporary
• ASIN: B000000X90
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,354 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Devoted fans of alto saxophonist Art Pepper share a fascination with Chet Baker fans. They find Pepper's excesses, so flatly confessed in his autobiography, Straight Life, great fodder for intense listening--which they are. Pepper had a rare talent for playing as if his horn were a lens on his torment. He played cushioned, cool melodies in the California jazz heyday and then went off to prison and hardscrabble years as an infamous heroin addict. By the time he performed the music on this massive nine-CD set, Pepper had made several comebacks, the latest of which was heroic--if fueled by chemicals and a furious need to prove himself during the Vanguard gigs caught here uninterrupted. The music bristles, whether in the pretty anguish of a solo-sax "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" or the numerous mad-charging bop heads Pepper tackles as if they were his last meals. He makes an ass of himself with some of the between-song banter, but it's all part of the big picture. For all the thorns and warts and complications, that picture shows unabated, undiluted, and unquenchable musical chops to burn here. The liner essay tells the whole sordid tale of Pepper gone from prison to a halfway house to a late-1970s rebound that urged some of his best music. If this lavish box, with its repetitions of tunes (all the takes, however, differ radically) is too much, try the individual volumes. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

20bit digital K2 mastering. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So whats the big deal with the JVC box?? Read on...., August 28, 2005

By 

J. Bewley "mbewley2002" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Village Vanguard Sessions (Audio CD)

I made a few calls, and it turns out that JVC leases the origional tapes from Contemporary Records to remaster the material in 24-bit, 96-k fidelity. I ordered the set, and have been quite pleased with the sound and packaging. No muddy mids and highs you get with the early 90's reissues.

For the discerning listener, this is the only option for Art Pepper fans.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art Masterpiece., November 29, 2002

By 

scott mcdowell (raleigh, nc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Village Vanguard Sessions (Audio CD)

Art Pepper,
Saxophonist extrodinaire, drug addict, music visionairy,artistic contemporary. Many of these terms have been used to describe the inigmatic Arthur Pepper, however, within the scope of musician, this man was clearly a master of his medium. Perhaps in the same vein as [Charlie] Parker. Live at the Village Vanguard finds Pepper surrounded by an excellent group of musicians. The repititions of selection may be a bit redundant for many, however, none of the material is done in the same manner, and IMHO, allows the material to remain fresh and new. I highly recommend this pricey boxset to Pepper neophytes as well as to old school Pepper fans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pepper's finest, February 20, 2010

By 

Mike Pawlows - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Village Vanguard Sessions (Audio CD)

I've always felt that Pepper's greatest work came late in his life, when he was once again addicted to the substances that landed him in jail in the 1960s. He plays with passion and emotion that, quite honestly, make you wonder if this is the same guy from those 50s and 60s straight bop recordings. It is raw. And it is incredibly powerful. The man was truly at his artistic peak in this period. He alternates between sax and clarinet. Being a master of both, Pepper kills it on every solo. And the backing band...wow.

If you want to hear Pepper at his most exposed, his most powerful, get this set. Also look into the great stuff that his widow, Laurie, is releasing (thank you Laurie!): his final shows. His last concert, which I believe was at the Kennedy Center in D.C., has been released. The final track is a truly heart-wrenching solo of "When You're Smiling."

RIP Art, you were one of the greats.