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Hey gang, I'm finishing up a new Night Lights about Art Pepper in the 1960s and came across mention of this in the chronology at the back of The Art Pepper Companion: "Spring-Summer 1967: Gigs in L.A. Leads own group at Gold Nugget in June and September with Dick Whittington, Hamel and Jerry Granelli. Records for this group for Contemporary without eventual release." Just out of curiosity, has this session ever been documented anywhere? Pepper also recorded a Contemporary rehearsal session in 1964 that Laurie Pepper eventually put out as part of The Art History Project: V. 1-3 (it's on CD 2, which is titled Hard Art). I can't find mention of it in the Jazz Discography Project index of Pepper sessions (which also doesn't list the 1964 Hard Art date). And while he can be heard on tenor on non-1960s dates, I haven't been able to track down any recordings featuring him on it in the mid-1960s, when he took it up in place of alto for awhile (a stretch that came to an end when he joined Rich's band in 1968). Pepper's 1960s discography is infamously scant after his arrest following the Smack-Up sessions in October 1960. I haven't tried to delve into any of the stuff he did with Marty Paich after getting out of San Quentin in 1964 and have stuck to the live recordings from 1964 and 1968, including two tunes with Buddy Rich's big band, and a tune from the 1964 rehearsal session. I'm also starting off the program with a couple of cuts from 1960, which was a strong year for Pepper recordings, especially Smack-Up and Intensity. It's been a very interesting show to put together.

The latest addition to my Jazz Research blog examines the Art Pepper Discovery sessions. http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2016/04/art-pepper-discovery-sessions-james-a.html Over the years many discographers have wondered why there were no alternate takes from the first recording session on March 4, 1952. I think that the answer lies with the fact that the session was financed by Robert Scherman using his Skylark Records license. Scherman was a thrifty producer and saving alternate takes was not something he practiced.

Art Pepper and Warne Marsh completists will want to acquire Laurie Pepper’s joint release with the Los Angeles Jazz Institute of rare and unissued Art Pepper sessions. The Pepper/Marsh track is an alternate of AVALON, the master take (Ed Michel’s choice) was issued on the Victor (Japan) Art Pepper With Warne Marsh CD (VDJ-1577) 1986. The release also has previously unissued tracks from Art Pepper Plus Eleven, Gettin’ Together, Smack Up, and Intensity. Laurie Pepper’s version is Antique Art Pepper and the LAJI version is Over The Rainbow - Rare and Unissued Art Pepper 1949-1960. This alternate take of Avalon brings the total timing of music from this session to sixty minutes, music that could have aided the careers of Pepper and Marsh if it had been released back then. John Litweiler gave The Way It Was (6 tracks from the session) a five star review in Down Beat when it was released in 1973.