TERRY GROSS, HOST:
Jazz saxophonist Art Pepper was born 100 years ago today. He started on clarinet at age 9 and debuted on record with Stan Kenton at age 18. Pepper had an intensive and creative alto saxophone style that kept his services in demand, but owing to personal problems, he'd drop out of music from time to time. Then in the '70s, after a long hiatus, Art Pepper came roaring back. Our jazz historian Kevin Whitehead has the details.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "MAMBO KOYAMA")
KEVIN WHITEHEAD, BYLINE: Art Pepper's tune "Mambo Koyama" from 1978, when the saxophonist was enjoying one of the great jazz comebacks after 15 years laying low. His return would soon get a further boost from his candid autobiography, "Straight Life." As Pepper tells it there, he was an unloved kid, afraid of everything from closets to clouds, who then discovered two things he loved - music early, and a few years later, the addictive narcotic heroin. In his book, he makes the first time he shot up sound like coming home. Art Pepper, the jazz musician, got early exposure in Stan Kenton's 1940s big band. All the young alto players dug Charlie Parker's fleet brilliance. But Pepper had his own bright tone, warm inflections, skiddery phrasing and floating swing feel.
(SOUNDBITE OF STAN KENTON'S "DYNAFLOW")
WHITEHEAD: Art Pepper on Stan Kenton's "Dynaflow," 1950. Other West Coast leaders sought Pepper out, but he could burn a little hot for LA's new, cool jazz scene. Shorty Rogers showcased him on an arrangement of "Over The Rainbow," which barely contained Pepper's energy and creativity.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "OVER THE RAINBOW")
WHITEHEAD: Art Pepper's life could be a mess, but he played with a lot of heart. You really hear it on a pair of stark blues with bassist Ben Tucker from 1956. On "Blues In," Pepper balances elegant lines and woozy splats, as if bearing his internal contradictions.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "BLUES IN")
WHITEHEAD: One thing Art Pepper fretted about a lot was that African American colleagues didn't respect him enough, Pepper being white and ever insecure. He was anxious before 1957 record date with Miles Davis' rhythm trio, fearing they'd cop an attitude. But they couldn't have been nicer. And the album "Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section" was an instant classic. Pianist Red Garland had suggested "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," where Pepper warms up his solo with some thick, slabby low notes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO")
WHITEHEAD: Art Pepper made more fine albums through 1960. Then he didn't make one of his own for 15 years. To be a drug addict was to be an outlaw, and Art did a few stretches in California prisons followed by a stint in a drug rehab program he made sound like jail all over again. But he kept playing and keeping track of new developments. in particular, John Coltrane's way of mixing form and freedom. Comeback Pepper wrote some new style tunes like "Mambo Koyama" and the sleek and streamlined "Landscape."
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "LANDSCAPE")
WHITEHEAD: The tune "Landscape" was a staple of Art Pepper's last years when he performed and recorded often. I saw him a few times toward the end, and his playing was a marvel, sometimes a bit rougher, but with his old beautifully sculpted phrases and headlong rhythm. Here he is on "Landscape" from a festival set at the Kennedy Center.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER'S "LANDSCAPE")
WHITEHEAD: Art Pepper, May 1982, on his final concert. His abused body had been failing, and he died two weeks later. That Pepper made it to age 56 owed much to his wife and co-author Laurie Pepper, who's issued many late period live dates, like the one we just heard on her Widow's Taste label. In the end, the saxophonist got all the acclaim he'd been craving from peers, critics and audiences. Art Pepper's last studio dates were a close listening duo with an African American pianist he bonded with who's still with us, the formidable George Cables. With Art Pepper's final performances, the old outlaw went out in a blaze of glory.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER & GEORGE CABLES' "DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYIN'")
GROSS: Kevin Whitehead is the author of "New Dutch Swing," "Why Jazz?" and "Play The Way You Feel."
Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, our guest will be Jane Fonda. At the age of 87, the Academy Award-winning actor is pouring her energy into activism. She'll talk about her decades-long career, how she first began her fitness empire to fund her activist work, and why the first season of the Netflix series "Grace And Frankie" sent her back into therapy. I hope you'll join us. To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at @nprfreshair. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman and John Sheehan. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Our consulting visual producer is Hope Wilson. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co-host is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART PEPPER & GEORGE CABLES' "DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYIN'") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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