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Art Pepper: Gettin' Together

By Richard J Salvucci
December 25, 2024
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Roughly about a year before Art Pepper was sentenced to 3 to 20 years in San Quentin State Prison on heroin charges, he made this recording.

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' rhythm section was briefly available in Los Angeles. So Pepper had a chance to reprise his wonderful performance in Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (Original Jazz Classics, 1957), albeit with different personnel and with the addition of

Conte Candoli

trumpet
1927 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Conte Candoli on trumpet. The recording was a kind of coda to the first part of his career. Pepper was about 32 years old. Coming out of

Benny Carter

saxophone, alto
1907 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Carter and

Johnny Hodges

saxophone, alto
1907 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Hodges, he would never sound quite the same again. There was even a touch of

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman here, maybe in Pepper's phrasing and ideas.

Getting Together has never enjoyed the same reputation as some of Pepper's preceding recordings. Nor does it merit similar esteem. While the project gets off to a strong start on Side 1 with "Whims of Chambers" and "Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise," Side 2 is much less successful. No one other than

Paul Chambers

bass, acoustic
1935 - 1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Chambers really sounds very comfortable on "Rhythm-A-Ning," where Pepper's solo has no discernible structure and sounds a lot like a collection of leftover licks. According to Martin Williams' liner notes, " 'Getting Together' [was] made because Art wanted to record a blues on tenor... ad lib while the tape was rolling." That is a reasonable description of the twelve-bar blues here, aimless, and not at all what one would expect from Pepper and the other musicians.

Wynton Kelly

piano
1931 - 1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Wynton Kelly's technique throughout is uncertain, and even Conte Candoli, who seems to be channeling

Harry "Sweets" Edison

trumpet
1915 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry "Sweets" Edison in places, really just seems to play a lot of notes whenever he gets the chance to blow. Only Chambers really comes off well, although his arco playing will make no one who has spent much time around a classical bassist impressed. That may be heresy, but judge for yourself.

Pepper was a complicated guy, even for a white musician with a serious drug problem. The latter half of his career was not just a comeback, but a transformation, with a legacy of great recordings. Cut Pepper some slack on this one, which is part of the Craft Recordings audiophile Acoustic Sounds Series. San Quentin, where he was sent by a vengeful judge, was a nasty place to start all over again. And yet, he did.

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Track Listing

Whims of Chambers; Bijou The Poodle; Why Are We Afraid; Softly As In A Morning Sunrise; Rhythm-A-Ning; Diane; Getting Together

Personnel

Art Pepper

saxophone, alto

Conte Candoli

trumpet

Wynton Kelly

piano

Paul Chambers

bass, acoustic

Jimmy Cobb

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Art Pepper: alto & tenor saxophone.

Album information

Title: Gettin' Together | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Craft Recordings

Art Pepper �� Gettin' Together

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