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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hit and Miss. But there's alot here for Pepper fans., April 30, 2001
This review is from: Hollywood All Star Sessions (Audio CD)
I don't have this box set. Rather I've owned and ejoyed the original Atlas LPs for many years and continue to listen to most of them on a regular basis. Even though Art was a "sideman" on these records, make no mistake that these are Pepper-lead sessions. He was a "sideman" only due to contractual conflicts with Galaxy. But because these was no prssure here, these sessions tend to be very relaxed and casual "blowing" sessions with mixed results. The Watrous and Sheldon sessions are a ball and the second Sonny Stitt session is mind-blowing (especially on "Atlas Blues" and "Lester Leaps In" and listen to the great bass playing from the much underrated John Heard--outstanding!). But the first Stitt session is a mess and the Pete Jolly and Shelley Manne dates are only so-so. Still, this is ART PEPPER and it's great to have this music back in print (for the first time in the US!) after all these years. I reccomend this box to all Pepper fans.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe he IS Roy Hobbs after all., September 23, 2003
This review is from: Hollywood All Star Sessions (Audio CD)
As much as I had responded to the emotionalism in Art Pepper's playing, I had never taken very seriously his quote about intending to be no less than "the greatest alto player of all time." Not until now. These five extraordinary CD's capture the altoist in peak form in five different contexts, each swinging from start to finish and each featuring non-stop light and heat from one of jazz' most creative overachievers. During the middle of "Wee," taken at a torrid tempo on Disc 3, Pepper does something unexpected: he reverts to the conventional, proving he had chops sufficient to outpace the very best Bird disciple of them all. Sonny Stitt is his sparring mate. Pepper has just finished one of his jagged, angular solos, emitting brief bursts of brilliance, taking stabs at the overtone series, leaving shards of crystalized emotions in his choppy wake. Expressive and communicative, but certainly no proof of his command of either the horn or the complex syntax of bebop. Then Stitt follows with smooth, logical and assured Bird-like lines, spitting them out with consummate albeit formulaic ease. Apparently that was enough for Pepper, who takes after Stitt, exhibiting the killer instinct of a competitor who's about to humiliate the rival on the latter's own turf. Pepper's note choices, velocity, articulations, energy, and even fluency are sufficient not only to smoke Sonny but to expose his own former elliptical approach to improvisation as the "ruse" of a creator who under most circumstances will go the extra mile to avoid anything resembling a cliche, a familiar lick, a glib formula. The man was not only the most moving alto saxophonist of them all but indeed may very well have been the best.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Novice Perspective, February 1, 2004
This review is from: Hollywood All Star Sessions (Audio CD)
I write as someone with no background in jazz and only recently determined to give it a chance. Early exposure to fusion and speed-artists turned me off and now at midlife I am determined to mine out some of the nuggets. A few albums appealed at once; Kind of Blue, Jazz Samba, a few others; but nothing has reached out and grabbed me like this album. Simply superb performances and recordings. I can't wait till my own copy arrives.
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