Recorded over two days in October 1960 for Los Angeles's Contemporary Records, Art Pepper's Smack Up featured six compositions by saxophonists, five of whom had recorded their songs for the label years earlier.
It's unclear whether Pepper was compelled to do this by Contemporary or the idea was suggested to him. It's doubtful he came up with the concept on his own. The alto saxophonist was joined by trumpeter Jack Sheldon, pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Frank Butler. [Photo above of Art Pepper by (c)Ray Avery/CTSImages]
The title track by Harold Land was first recorded on Land's Contemporary album Grooveyard in 1958. The meaning of Smack Up, according to Nat Hentoff's Grooveyard liner notes, was the first thing Land thought of when he came up with the composition's first phrase. Smack Up, as in "smacked upside the head." On Pepper's album, the title track was taken considerably faster than Land's original.
The second track, Las Cuevas De Mario, was a Pepper composition for this album and played in 5/4 time. It's strongly reminiscent of Miles Davis's All Blues, which was played in 6/8 on Kind of Blue (1959). Pepper wouldn't record the song again until 1977, on his Friday Night at the Village Vanguard and Saturday Night at the Vanguard. Both albums were on Contemporary, which would remain in business until 1984, when the catalog was sold to Fantasy. [Photo above of Jack Sheldon by (c)Ray Avery/CTSImages]
Buddy Collette's jaunty swinger A Bit of Basie was first recorded by Collette on a Howard Rumsey live date recorded by Contemporary at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach in 1956. The song has a breezy West Coast charm and gives you a clear sense of how tight this quintet was, with Jolly taking an extended, fluid piano solo followed by Bond's snappy bass. [Photo above of Buddy Collette]
How Can You Lose?, by Benny Carter, was recorded on his Jazz Giant album for Contemporary (1957). The mid-tempo blues ballad, with a Love Is Just Around the Corner feel, features Pepper playing high on the alto saxophone's register.
Duane Tatro's Maybe Next Year is a gorgeous ballad that's little heard today. It appeared first on his highly regarded Jazz for Moderns in 1956. Tatro would go on to compose action music for more than two dozen TV movies and series in the 1960s and '70s.
The closer, Tears Inside, is by Ornette Coleman, from his Tomorrow Is the Question album for Contemporary. As Hentoff points out in his notes, "With all due respect to Ornette, the character of this track basically is determined by the soloists and their blowing rather than by the 50-odd seconds of theme."
Smack Up holds up well, even though Pepper's improvisation in places seems hesitant, repeating phrases over and over as if trying to figure what to do next. Then he springs into action smoothly, as if elbowed forward by an unseen force. [Photo above of Art Pepper in 1960]
Best of all, Smack Up has just been released by Concord's Craft Recordings label. The lacquers were cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman and then pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings. The LP sounds fresh and alive.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the newly issued vinyl pressing of Smack Up (Craft) here.
I'm told that a high-resolution digital version of the album is forthcoming.
JazzWax clip: Here's the title track from the new Craft release of Smack Up...
