Complete 1975 Garden State Jam Sessions

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The title says "Garden State", but the material's from California – but we'll forgive the producers of the CD for that, given that they don't live in the US! Disc 1 features a really unusual 70s recording from Art Pepper – quite different than most of his better-known work from the time! The group alone is enough to indicate the unusual quality of the set – as it's larger than usual, with a great lineup that includes Harold Land and Buddy Collette on tenor, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Butch Lacy on electric piano – all coming together with a magically free-flowing and soulful sound – recorded in San Diego in 1975. The presence of the electric piano touches the set with a nice degree of electricity – but the real energy comes from the fantastic horn interplay, stretching out nicely over the album's 3 long tracks. Titles include "Blue's Blue", "Milestones", and "Over The Rainbow". Disc 2 features Art Pepper playing at a 1975 tribute to Charlie Parker, recorded in Pasadena with a lineup that includes Joe Albany on piano, Roy Porter on drums, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, and Harry Babasin on bass. That quintet of players is enough to get our interest on this one – and we've got to say that the blend of baritone and alto is really great – and handled here with an open-blowing spirit that really keeps our imagination up on the set's long interpretations of Parker classics. The sound quality is a bit "live", but the quality of the solos shines through tremendously – and titles include "Groovin High", "All The Things You Are", "Ornithology", and "Donna Lee" – all over 10 minutes in length! This material was previously available on 2 separate, expensive Japanese CDs – now out at a nice low price!  © 1996-2024, Dusty Groove, Inc.