Art Pepper - Mosaic Select 15 [2005] (3 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ,

ART PEPPER

Art Pepper - Mosaic Select 15 [2005] (3 x CDs)

Step into Los Angeles studios in 1956 and 1957 and you find Art Pepper in constant motion. Every room he entered, Capitol, Western Recorders, Radio Recorders, Master Recorders, Audio Arts, carried a different atmosphere, yet his alto sound remained unmistakable: bright, urgent, lyrical, and touched with a vulnerability that set him apart from his West Coast peers. Mosaic Select 15 gathers those sessions into three discs, creating a portrait of a musician working at full intensity, moving between labels, ensembles and moods with remarkable consistency.

CD1 centres on The Return of Art Pepper, a quintet date where Jack Sheldon, Russ Freeman, Leroy Vinnegar and Shelly Manne give Pepper a rhythmic cushion that lets him stretch. The tunes move quickly, blues figures, bebop lines, ballads with a restless edge, and Pepper’s phrasing feels both precise and emotionally charged. The later tracks from the Joe Morello session add a different colour, with Pepper switching to tenor and revealing a rawer, earthier voice.

CD2 shifts between Modern Art and the Radio Annex material. Freeman, Ben Tucker, Chuck Flores and Carl Perkins shape a sound that balances West Coast clarity with Pepper’s Parker‑rooted fire. The writing is tight, the playing confident, and the alternate takes show how Pepper refined ideas without losing spontaneity. These sessions capture him at a peak: inventive, focused and deeply expressive.

CD3, drawn from The Art of Pepper, is the most atmospheric. Recorded at Audio Arts, these stereo tapes have quirks, dropouts, flutter, occasional distortion, but the performances rise above the imperfections. Pepper plays with urgency and warmth, supported by Perkins, Tucker and Flores. The long forms allow him to explore melody with patience, building solos that feel like conversations rather than displays. (B)

==========================================================

OR

===========================================================

Track lists

CD1

01 Art Pepper - Pepper Returns 4:26

02 Art Pepper - Broadway 5:00

03 Art Pepper - You Go to My Head 4:18

04 Art Pepper - Angel Wings 4:42

05 Art Pepper - Funny Blues 4:38

06 Art Pepper - Five More 4:41

07 Art Pepper - Minority 4:19

08 Art Pepper - Patricia 3:39

09 Art Pepper - Mambo De La Pinta 4:16

10 Art Pepper - Walkin' Out Blues 5:56

11 Art Pepper - Straight Life 3:22

12 Art Pepper - Yardbird Suite 5:46

13 Art Pepper - Pepper Steak 3:50

14 Art Pepper - You're Driving Me Crazy 5:09

15 Art Pepper - Tenor Blooz 5:00

CD2

01 Art Pepper - Blues In 6:02

02 Art Pepper - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 4:27

03 Art Pepper - Stompin' at The Savoy 5:05

04 Art Pepper - What is This Thing Called Love 6:04

05 Art Pepper - Blues Out 4:48

06 Art Pepper - Diane's Dilemma 3:50

07 Art Pepper - When You're Smiling 4:52

08 Art Pepper - Cool Bunny 4:13

09 Art Pepper - Summertime 7:20

10 Art Pepper - Diane's Dilemma (alt take) 4:57

11 Art Pepper - What is This Thing Called Love (alt take) 5:32

12 Art Pepper - A Foggy Day 3:55

13 Art Pepper - Diane-A-Flow 4:04

14 Art Pepper - Zenobia 5:17

15 Art Pepper - Angel Eyes 3:39

CD3

01 Art Pepper - Holiday Flight 5:10

02 Art Pepper - Too Close for Comfort 6:10

03 Art Pepper - Long Ago and Far Away 4:11

04 Art Pepper - Begin The Beguine 7:23

05 Art Pepper - I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me 5:39

06 Art Pepper - Summertime 6:32

07 Art Pepper - Fascinatin' Rhythm 4:25

08 Art Pepper - Body and Soul 4:22

09 Art Pepper - Without A Song 7:39

10 Art Pepper - The Breeze and I 3:32

11 Art Pepper - Surf Ride 4:42

12 Art Pepper - Webb City 4:56

13 Art Pepper - Begin The Beguine (alt take) 6:17

14 Art Pepper - Fascinatin' Rhythm (alt take) 4:01

15 Art Pepper - Webb City (alt take) 4:34

=============================================================

=============================================================

Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

=============================================================

=============================================================