Customer Reviews

Meets Rhythm Session 1

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This date is traditionally seen as a watershed in Pepper's career, both in aesthetic terms and in terms of public recognition. Miles Davis was playing on the West Coast, & Les Koenig set up this date in which Pepper sits in with Davis's rhythm section (Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums). Famously, Koenig & Pepper's wife Diane kept the date a secret from Pepper until the morning of the session, fearing that he'd be too nervous to agree to working with such a formidable group of East Coast musicians. Pepper was also deep in his drug problems, & hadn't picked up his instrument for ages. (The story is told in Pepper's autobiography _Straight Life_; I suspect there's a certain amount of self-mythologizing, but....) Almost miraculously, this hastily arranged pick-up date, with its assortment of easily-picked standards and a couple originals, turned out to be one of the best jazz records of the 1950s.

It's not perhaps surprising that Pepper & the Davis rhythm section hit it off. Pepper's style, though certainly strongly influenced by Charlie Parker, still is grounded in his affection for earlier saxophonists like Benny Carter & Lester Young; his repertoire often included pre-bop standards like "I Can't Believe You're in Love with Me" or, on this recording, "Jazz Me Blues" (from the Bix Beiderbecke/Frankie Trumbauer records). His signature tune, "Straight Life", given a superb reading here, is a lightning-fast contrafact on the old standard "After You've Gone". Miles Davis was similarly in the 1950s exploring 1920s and 1930s pop songs that the original boppers would rarely have touched (there's a telling anecdote in Davis's autobiography, about his struggle to get a cocky young Jackie McLean to learn the old standards instead of just concentrating on modern tunes). -- But Pepper was also pointing ahead to the future: though he was an elegantly pointed player with a great tone, his sound sometimes has distortions & bends that give great emotional impact to his playing (he is light-years away from the glibness & overrelaxation which sometimes afflicted West Coast jazz), an approach that was to make him one of the first of the older musicians to recognize the importance of Ornette Coleman & John Coltrane, & to incorporate elements of their freedom into his playing.

This is an essential modern jazz album. Those who enjoy it wll want to search out Pepper's other albums for Contemporary, such as the superb _Intensity_. There's also a fine disc called _The Way It Was!_, consisting of a first-rate previously unreleased session with Warne Marsh, & a bunch of outtakes, including one discarded tune from the _Rhythm Section_ sessions ("The Man I Love", if memory serves). Fans of Pepper tend to divide into two batches--those who love the work up to 1960 (before his extended sabbatical, first in San Quentin then in Synanon); & those who idolize the later work from the 1970s. I mostly belong to the first group; to my mind, the run of Contemporary albums Pepper did between 1955 and 1960 is one of the central documents in postwar jazz.

This is the classic Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section. This album is great as a whole. It is mostly made up of pop and jazz standards, and originals. Done in the mid 50's when jazz was at one of its peaks, the album is a wonderful listen from start to finish.

Art Pepper, saxophonist on the west coast, was basically belonged to the west coast school of players along with Shelly Manne, Victor Feldman, Stan Getz, Conte Candoli, Gerry Mulligan, and Chet Baker. On this recording, Pepper is teamed up with a rhythm section from the east coast, consisting of pianist Red Garland, Paul Chambers on bass, and the fireous drumming of Philly Joe Jones.

This was a neat cut. The playing time is quite heafty, due to the number of tracks, with average playing times of about 4 minutes each. Art's playing isn't up to par as he stated. I believe he hadn't played in a long time prior to the recording of this album. His sound here is brittle, but is improvisations are spectacular.

You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, is a nice standard with some blues influence. Philly Joe Jones' solo is beautiful as usual. The collaboration between Garland and Pepper results in Red Pepper Blues.

There is extraudinary playing throughout. Art blows through his original Straight Life, and the band's playing is as soulful as can be.

Art was a big fan of Dixieland jazz, as demonstrated on Jazz Me Blues, the old New Orleans standard. The fine Dizzy Gillespie piece Birk Works is a kicker! But the real highlight for me is Tin Tin Deo. This has one of the best "B" sections I have ever heard.

This is the west coast meets the east coast. The east coast musicians were said to be more soulful, as opposed to the mostly white, west coast school. This album prooves it isn't true. Art rips through the pieces and swings throughout. A classic recording! Has been loved by many for years.

Five stars!
Classic Art Pepper!

A true classic from the 50's, I believe this album is one of the best quartet albums ever made. The stories surrounding the making of it are fascinating, but the music even more so. And that's where I'd like to focus on.

It grabs you immediately when Red Garland starts the intro of "You'd be so nice to come home to". The tightness of the rhythm section is almost frightening. Especially the coda's of most tunes are simply unbelievable. The one I just play over and over again is "Red Pepper Blues".

And that's just one part of the record, because next to this amazing rhythm playing is Art Pepper. He is simply unique. Not relying on technique, but truely playing with his guts and in posession of one of the most beautiful alto sounds. And he's a great listener too: the way he blends with the rhythm section...
And that is what makes this a truely great record. The superb interplay, not just a rhythm section with a solist, but a 4-piece band, with each member fulfilling equal roles.

One of my all time favorite records, and the one I recommend most highly.

This date is traditionally seen as a watershed in Pepper's career, both in aesthetic terms and in terms of public recognition. Miles Davis was playing on the West Coast, & Les Koenig set up this date in which Pepper sits in with Davis's rhythm section (Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums). Famously, Koenig & Pepper's wife Diane kept the date a secret from Pepper until the morning of the session, fearing that he'd be too nervous to agree to working with such a formidable group of East Coast musicians. (...) (The story is told in Pepper's autobiography _Straight Life_; I suspect there's a certain amount of self-mythologizing, but....) Almost miraculously, this hastily arranged pick-up date, with its assortment of easily-picked standards and a couple originals, turned out to be one of the best jazz records of the 1950s.

It's not perhaps surprising that Pepper & the Davis rhythm section hit it off. Pepper's style, though certainly strongly influenced by Charlie Parker, still is grounded in his affection for earlier saxophonists like Benny Carter & Lester Young; his repertoire often included pre-bop standards like "I Can't Believe You're in Love with Me" or, on this recording, "Jazz Me Blues" (from the Bix Beiderbecke/Frankie Trumbauer records). His signature tune, "Straight Life", given a superb reading here, is a lightning-fast contrafact on the old standard "After You've Gone". Miles Davis was similarly in the 1950s exploring 1920s and 1930s pop songs that the original boppers would rarely have touched (there's a telling anecdote in Davis's autobiography, about his struggle to get a cocky young Jackie McLean to learn the old standards instead of just concentrating on modern tunes). -- But Pepper was also pointing ahead to the future: though he was an elegantly pointed player with a great tone, his sound sometimes has distortions & bends that give great emotional impact to his playing (he is light-years away from the glibness & overrelaxation which sometimes afflicted West Coast jazz), an approach that was to make him one of the first of the older musicians to recognize the importance of Ornette Coleman & John Coltrane, & to incorporate elements of their freedom into his playing.

This is an essential modern jazz album. Those who enjoy it wll want to search out Pepper's other albums for Contemporary, such as the superb _Intensity_. There's also a fine disc called _The Way It Was!_, consisting of a first-rate previously unreleased session with Warne Marsh, & a bunch of outtakes, including one discarded tune from the _Rhythm Section_ sessions ("The Man I Love", if memory serves). Fans of Pepper tend to divide into two batches--those who love the work up to 1960 (before his extended sabbatical, first in San Quentin then in Synanon); & those who idolize the later work from the 1970s. I mostly belong to the first group; to my mind, the run of Contemporary albums Pepper did between 1955 and 1960 is one of the central documents in postwar jazz.

There are two periods of Art Pepper's music: before prison and after prison. Some people prefer one over the other, but I like both. This album was recorded before years in prison listening to John Coltrane and playing tenor sax altered his approach. This album is emotional, but the emotions are simply different. This is straight-ahead jazz masterfully played by all involved. Without a doubt one of the greatest jazz recordings of all time.

Why didn't my earlier review of this show up? Anyway, this version of ART MEETS THE RHYTHM SECTION is a remaster using JVC's proprietary K2 Super coding process. What does this mean? It means that Art never sounded better. This record is a jazz classic, required listening, must have etc. The mike placement and channel mixing still stinks, Art way over on the left channel and the rhythm boys way over on the right but it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Art is very clean, clear and distinct like he is sitting on a bar stool in your listening room. The drum and cymbals are a real stand out. If you have not heard this (k2)CD then you have not heard this record yet. Deletes all previous efforts. Buy it now as all this K2 stuff from the boys at Fantasy Jazz is limited edition.

The mythology that surrounds this session is that Art Pepper was totally strung out and had hocked his horn for dope when the Miles Davis group arrived in L.A. for a two week gig. Contemporary Records pres. gets horn out of hock, books one day of studio time, cleans up Mr. Pepper (buys him some more dope), and this album is recorded in a matter of hours. WOW! These cuts finally proved that Mr. Pepper was far more than just another "cool" west-coast bopper, as these are among the "hottest," most soulful musings ever to come out of an alto sax. ESSENTIAL!!!!

I'm a jazz freak. Love it. Breathe it. But until recently, I had only heard Art Pepper in the Kenton band, and a bit when he played with Buddy Rich. I had never gotten a cd of him in a small group session with people who were at his level. After getting this...wow. I have a new man to emulate on the alto.

By now you've probably read the history of the album so I won't repeat it, but man, this guy sounds like he had been shedding non-stop, rather than not having played for awhile. His solos shimmer, his tone is beautiful, and he plays just as well as all the other name saxophonists of the period, Trane and Rollins, McLean, Mobley, Cannonball and Getz. Jones, Chambers and Garland are tight as always, as this trio (sometimes substituting Wynton Kelly for Garland) was the premier rhythm section of the 50's and a little bit into the 60's. The two forces collide and make very memorable jazz. My only complaint is, most of the tracks, and especially Art's solos, are far far far too short.

This CD is recommended very highly. One of Pepper's very best records and a great study of one of the all time best rhythm sections. Nice to hear Miles' band without Miles, having to adapt on the spot to a new soloist. The interplay is superb, as is the tune selection. Standards and jazz classics. Dig how they completely revitalize the old New Orleans standard "Jazz Me Blues".
Art's story about the making of this album doesn't quite mesh with his own discography. He in fact had been making some records in the proceeding weeks and months. Art probably was also doing some serious 'goofing', so his memory may have failed him. Plus his story made for better reading. In any event, this is one of the great recordings in jazz history.

The 1957 teaming of Pepper with what was then Miles Davis' rhythm section - Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums - was a brilliant idea. This was the first time they had ever played together, but you would never guess it. With a fine selection of tunes and masterful playing by all, this session swings with class. While Pepper was a consistently great player (on record) throughout his stop-and-start career, he rarely had a backup team of this caliber. Buy this disc today!