Ben Tucker Archive

Art Pepper – Art Pepper Quartet – Omnivore Recordings

by Audiophile Audition | May 25, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

Art Pepper – Art Pepper Quartet – Omnivore Recordings/ Tampa OVCD-214/ TP-20 – Mono – Nov. 1956 – 45:59 **** Classic 1956 West Coast session from Art Pepper… (Art Pepper – alto sax; Russ Freeman – piano; Ben Tucker – bass; Gary Frommer – drums) One of my most treasured West Coast jazz LPs is a Japanese pressed audiophile vinyl of the Marty Paich Quartet featuring Art Pepper from 1956. It epitomized  early West Coast jazz with cool arrangements, lightly swinging and highly melodic. The LP was issued by Tampa Records and cost me a pretty penny. It was well received when issued, and influenced Tampa to record Pepper with his own quartet shortly after. Now thanks to Art’s widow, Laurie, and Cheryl Pawelski of Omnivore, we get the opportunity to hear this November, 1956 recording in fine remastered (by Michael Graves) sound on CD (also available on Vinyl). It took quite a bit of legal wrangling and perseverance by Laurie to regain possession of the master tapes, and we get the benefit of her detective work. At the time of this session, Art was in a good space with a relaxed confidence that the immediate future held promise. It did […]