Customer Reviews

Modern Art

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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The cover can tell you a lot about this CD. I think the photograph exactly typifies a time, a life-style, a mood. This is the late-Fifties West Coast jazz world we're in. A good-looking young man dressed in a sharp suit, white shirt and understated tie, sits at a table with his faithful saxophone at his elbow, an abstract painting hanging on the wall behind him. His expression is a mixture of cool, detached concentration, with maybe just a hint of the assured, almost surly, "who-gives-a-s**t" rebel. I don't know who took this photograph or whether others from the same session were ever used, but it is an image that I think matches the music to perfection. It seems unfair to single out a track for special mention - the whole mood of the album just cruises along at a very high standard. It sounds like a bunch of musicians who are just enjoying themselves, confident they are excelling at their craft on the day. "Hey guys, we're good, and we don't care who knows it." The only minor negative I would offer is the recording sound. This isn't hi-fi demonstration material. If you're a real hi-fi enthusiast it may seem a bit shallow and with slightly unnatural tones to some of the instruments. However, it is clean and dynamic, and the tracks are played with such enthusiasm and ability that the quality of the music shines through. This is great listening and thoroughly recommended.

Most Art Pepper discs from the 1950s are solid. However this counts as perhaps the best disc to have if you only want to try one. It contains over an hour of his best work with no weak tracks.

I own hundreds of jazz cd's, and sometimes someone wants to know if I have a favorite. I can't say I have one favorite, but this is up there in the top 5. I recommend this CD to any serious jazz fan who somehow has overlooked one of the most talented sax players ever, anyone interested in "cool" jazz, anyone trying out jazz for the first time, and any jazz musician looking to hear some inspiring solo work. It's a true album, where every track belongs, and it plays well, in order, from start to finish, over and over again.

I have a hard time believing that there aren't a hundred plus reviews for this album - it's that good, and a must for any collection. I've noticed that if something is well-known and easily accessible, that there will be hundreds of reviews here on Amazon for it, many with not much more to add than 'Gosh, I really, really like this thing'. Well then, consider this album an underappreciatied gem, still waiting for the recognition it deserves.

I'm not a jazz afficianado - I only know what I like, and from the moment I slipped in 'Modern Art', I was hooked. There are a lot a jazz musicians that are just too frenetic for me, too busy, and I haven't the aptitude to appreciate them. Maybe I will someday - after all, it took some time and patience for me to appreciate Miles Davis' and John Coltrane's work, and I've never been able to get all the way into Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gilespie. But these sessions by Pepper have stayed with me through my deepening appreciation of jazz music, and I still enjoy them as much as when I first listened.

If you are considering this album, I highly recommend it, especially if you are beginning your Jazz experience. I think this one may be more accessible to start with, and yet, as I mentioned before, sufficiently layered to reveal more of itself as time goes by. If nothing else, dig that track 'Summertime'. I don't know what Pepper's inspiration was for this piece, but wow, what intensity. It sounds like the dude's _life_ was being poured into that one tune.

Not a weak track in the bunch, and the best Art Pepper album I've yet listened to.

If you like the dreamy, smoothe style of Art Pepper, don't miss this one. I am now searching for Volume one, but so far, no luck.

Pepper here is light years ahead of most in the business at the time. All you need to do is listen to his cover of SUMMERTIME and you'll see. It's probably one of jazz's most unrecognized masterpieces. His duets with Tucker are also far ahead of time. Pure pleasure, Modern Art.

I consider this not only my favorite Art Pepper CD, but also my favorite jazz CD period. Different from his other brilliant work such as Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section and Art Pepper + Eleven (two other CDs I highly recommend), this is stripped down, intense Art. It features his playing right up front in all its raw, emotional power, with minimal accompaniment. This is some serious solo work. It also features what I consider one of the two coolest cover pictures on any jazz album (the other being On Stage: Bill Perkins Octet). I highly recommend this CD to any jazz fan!

This is the first Art Pepper album I have purchased. It is the epitome of the cool California jazz of the 50's. My early favorites are "Bewitched" and "Begin the Beguine". I have the feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

this is a wonderful album, my first venture into Art Pepper and I can't get enough! For those still new to Jazz, this is a great album to get your feet wet with.