Art Pepper – Gettin’ Together!

A sequel with new partners

Three years after Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section, Art Pepper returned to a related idea. For Gettin’ Together!, he again joined musicians from Miles Davis’s musical circle. On February 29, 1960, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb met him at Contemporary Records’ studio in Los Angeles. The title describes a practical opportunity: bringing a rhythm section with shared experience together with a soloist who had a distinct language of his own. Lester Koenig produced the session, with Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer credited for engineering.

The connection with the 1957 album is a useful starting point, but it needs a precise distinction. Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones had played alongside Chambers on that earlier date. Only the bassist participated in both meetings. Kelly and Cobb brought a different collective experience, and the 1960 recording also gained a second horn on three tracks. It continued the original idea with a new lineup. The rhythm section had recently performed in Los Angeles with Davis; this encounter produced a single studio session, represented here by the seven tracks of the original LP.

Moving between quartet and quintet

Pepper plays alto and tenor saxophones on the album. Conte Candoli adds trumpet on “Whims Of Chambers,” “Bijou The Poodle” and “Rhythm-A-Ning.” His limited participation matters to the program’s character: the second horn belongs to particular pieces, while others leave room for the quartet. Candoli is neither a constant partner throughout the album nor merely an incidental name in a general personnel list. His three appearances change the relationship between a jointly presented theme and an individual solo response.

Kelly, Chambers and Cobb provide the foundation shared by both formations. Listen for the piano’s short chordal replies between saxophone phrases, and for the ways bass and drums maintain continuity without having to place every accent together. Pepper is working with musicians already accustomed to one another as a trio. That is part of the session’s interest: a familiar working relationship remains flexible enough to accommodate another melodic personality. The personnel alone do not establish a judgment about sound, but they offer a specific way into the relationships within the music.

Personal titles and a spontaneous blues

The program combines pieces by the participants with standards and a Thelonious Monk composition. Chambers contributes “Whims Of Chambers,” while Pepper brings “Bijou The Poodle” and “Diane.” Those two titles have personal connections: Bijou was his dog and Diane his wife. The names add a private dimension without requiring the music to function as a literal biographical illustration. “Why Are We Afraid” was written by André Previn and Dory Langdon in connection with the film The Subterraneans. “Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise” adds a more established standard to the selection.

Side two contains Monk’s “Rhythm-A-Ning,” “Diane” and the title piece, “Gettin’ Together.” According to the accompanying notes, the closing blues grew out of Pepper’s wish to play something on tenor saxophone. The change of instrument is therefore part of the documented session story. A complete instrument assignment for every other track should not be inferred where the evidence does not establish it. This LP contains seven pieces; the alternate take and “The Way You Look Tonight” found on expanded editions are not included.

The Contemporary reissue

This edition belongs to the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series from Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds. It presents the original stereo album on one 180-gram LP at 33⅓ RPM. Bernie Grundman cut the lacquers. Craft describes the production as AAA and identifies the original master tapes as the source. The record is pressed at Quality Record Pressings and housed in a Stoughton tip-on jacket. The edition’s catalog number is CR00713, with product number ACONC 713.

The focus is therefore a clearly defined version of Gettin’ Together!: the seven tracks of the original record, without the additional material found on later CD releases. As a companion to Meets The Rhythm Section, it opens a second meeting with Davis’s musical circle while also showing how much changes with two different partners and Candoli’s selected appearances. Listening from that angle allows the relationship between the albums and the independence of this session to emerge together. The shared starting point is a single recording date; its different musical situations unfold piece by piece.

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More by Art Pepper: Intensity · Smack Up

Series: Contemporary – all 24 records: sunny jazz from Los Angeles

Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Art Pepperalto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bandleaderParticipation: Album personnel
• Conte CandolitrumpetParticipation: A1, A2, B1
• Wynton KellypianoParticipation: Album personnel
• Paul Chambersdouble bassParticipation: Album personnel
• Jimmy CobbdrumsParticipation: Album personnel

Conte Candoli: A1, A2 and B1. Pepper plays tenor on the title blues; other instrument assignments are not fully established track by track.