"The Art of Pepper" tonight on Night Lights

[ghost of miles]

This week on Night Lights it's "The Art of Pepper: Art Pepper's Aladdin Recordings." In the mid-1950s Art Pepper had already served two prison terms on narcotics charges and was struggling to re-ignite the promising solo career he'd started several years earlier after leaving Stan Kenton's orchestra. 1956 was a spectacular year for Pepper, and the recordings he did for the Aladdin label, featuring West Coast greats such as pianists Russ Freeman and Carl Perkins and trumpeter Jack Sheldon, are still considered as some of the finest albums that he ever did. The program airs at 11:05 Saturday night (8:05 California time, 10:05 Chicago time); you can listen to it live or wait until Monday afternoon, when it will be posted in the Night Lights archives.