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: #58,337 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 alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 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
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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 Absolutely tremendous, February 1, 2009

By 

L. Topper - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

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

This is one of my favorite Art Pepper discs. He has played some tremendous music throughout his career and his trainwreck of a life. In the beginning, he was a total master of the West Coast School. It was light and reedy. His recordings from the laste 50's on the Contemporary label really swing. He played with some of the most talented rythm sections in the world. However, in this recording, Pepper has shown that he continued to grow. He is one of the rare sax players that can assimilate Coltrane's influence without losing his own individual sound.

I really love Coltrane's sound. He was a one of a kind genius, but when so many other sax players tried to take in the lessons of Coltrane. It is not that unusual. Many classical composers after Wagner absorbed Wagner's sound, but lost their individuality. Not Pepper. He got the energy and toughness from Trane, but still kept his own identity. Pepper sounds tough, original, and contemporary. He continued to grow to the end.

The band is wonderful. Elvin Jones on drums and the fabulous George Cables on piano. There is a fair amount of repetition because the recordings take place over several days. Art Pepper's announcements are sort of funny. The show the kind of asshole he really was. Reading his autobiography confirms this in spades. All of this makes the set even more interesting.

The sets are so cheap from the Amazon Market place vendors that you are paying only [...] What a deal!! The box set is very nicely done. Buy it. I have never regretted it. I really love live performance recordings anyway.