| Richie Cole and Art Pepper - Richie Cole Meets Art Pepper: A Piece of Jazz History |
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| Music Disc Reviews Audio CD | |
| Written by Scott Yanow | |
| Tuesday, 01 August 2006 | |
performance: 8 sound: 7 release year: 2006 first release year: 1983 label: Jazz Excursion reviewed by: Scott Yanow Richie Cole Meets Art Pepper, the only joint recording by the two great altoists, was originally a 1983 LP put out by the long-defunct Palo Alto label, and titled Return to Alto Acres. The two saxophonists were in very different spots in their careers at the time. Richie Cole, then 35, had for the past seven years recorded a steady stream of bop-oriented sessions. An exuberant player with a wild sense of humor, Cole, in his Alto Madness band, sought to demonstrate that anything could be turned into bebop. During an era when most young saxophonists looked toward fusion or the avant-garde for inspiration, Cole’s musical role models were Phil Woods and Charlie Parker. Although he would be plagued by excessive drinking and bad habits that would slow down his career five years later, Cole is still quite active today and capable of playing at the great heights that he reached during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Although it is impossible to tell it from his playing on this CD reissue, time had almost run out for Art Pepper by 1983. At 56, he had successfully made a major comeback from a life of serious drug abuse. Pepper began his career in the early 1940s playing in Los Angeles. He was with Stan Kenton’s orchestra in 1943 and, after serving in the military, was with Kenton off and on during 1947-52. A heroin addict by the time he went out on his own, Pepper had a very erratic and somewhat scary lifestyle, yet strangely enough was always in top form whenever he recorded. During 1953-60, he took one perfect solo after another on record, playing in a style influenced by Charlie Parker and Benny Carter but also quite individual, evolving from cool jazz to hard bop and more explorative sounds. In prison for long stretches during the ‘60s and off the scene much of the time until 1974 (other than a stint with Buddy Rich’s big band), Pepper somehow made a miraculous comeback and was back in prime form during 1975-82. His style had evolved quite a bit and was full of emotional outbursts, intensity and speech-like phrases; he was no longer a smooth bebopper, but his maturity, well-paced solos and go-for-broke nature, playing each solo as if it could be his last, put him at the top of the jazz world again. Teamed with the eclectic pianist Roger Kellaway, bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Billy Higgins, Cole and Pepper make for a mutually stimulating team during their lone collaboration. The opening tune (and former title cut) “Return to Alto Acres” is ironically named: it mostly features Richie Cole on baritone and Art Pepper on clarinet. Cole is roaring on the bigger horn, sounding closer to Pepper Adams than Gerry Mulligan and playing as fluently as ever. Pepper sounds confident on clarinet, an instrument he rarely played but loved as much as alto. Kellaway is typically hyper and fearless during his spot before the two saxophonists, both now on alto, trade off with Higgins and take the melody out. “The Things We Did Last Summer” is a change of pace, a ballad feature for Cole who mostly plays it straight, caressing the melody with a great deal of warmth. “Art’s Opus # 2” is a minor-toned blues-based jazz waltz, with both the altoists stretching out before a surprisingly free-form ending. Cole switches to tenor during “A&R,” an uptempo hard bop piece that contains plenty of fire. “Palo Alto Blues” has Cole returning to the baritone (which he rarely ever played beyond this project), interacting with Pepper’s alto near the end of a humorous tradeoff. The original program ended with “Broadway,” a romp for the two altos. This reissue adds the closing part of the alternate take of “Art’s Opus # 2,” which has Cole and Pepper once again playing quite free. Sadly, Art Pepper only had three-and-a-half months left in his life when he recorded this with Richie Cole, but his energetic and enthusiastic playing, which matches the younger alto in power and depth, demonstrates that he went out on top. Sound Richie Cole Meets Art Pepper was a decently recorded LP in 1983. The reissue CD does not noticeably improve the sound from the original release but is quite listenable. One has little difficulty telling the two altoists apart (even when they are both playing alto), the rhythm section is well balanced and this important historical set is well preserved for future generations. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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