Art Pepper – Intensity

Between recording and release

Intensity was recorded in November 1960 but did not appear on Contemporary Records until 1963. That separation matters when placing the music in Art Pepper’s career. These performances belong to his work at the beginning of the decade, even though the original album came later. On November 23 and 25, he recorded in Los Angeles with pianist Dolo Coker, bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Frank Butler. Lester Koenig produced and Roy DuNann engineered. The original LP’s seven tracks form a quartet program drawn entirely from existing songs.

The album also marks a break in Pepper’s sequence of studio recordings as a leader, followed by a lengthy interruption. It should not be described as his last recording of any kind, since subsequent appearances are documented. The more precise perspective is more useful than a dramatic final chapter. Intensity brings together a particular group and working method at a time when Pepper used familiar melodies as starting points for personal improvisation. Its delayed release gives the album a retrospective position, but the performances arose from the immediate collaboration of those November dates.

Four voices without a second horn

Bond and Butler had already worked with Pepper around Smack Up. With Dolo Coker at the piano, the group here is a quartet with no additional horn alongside the alto saxophone. That changes the possibilities of accompaniment. Piano can answer a saxophone phrase directly, bass can clarify harmonic movement, and drums can shape transitions and pauses. Knowing the lineup helps distinguish these functions while listening, without implying that they must remain fixed in every bar. The same four instruments can redistribute their roles as a performance develops.

The album title might suggest volume or uninterrupted forward drive, but musical intensity can also arise from a restrained turn, a delayed entrance or an unexpected distance from a familiar melody. A standards program invites attention to precisely those choices. Where does Pepper stay close to the tune, and where does he carry only a small fragment forward? When does Coker answer, and when does he leave space? These questions direct attention toward changes within the pieces, beyond the simple recognition of a title or melody.

Seven standards as common ground

“I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me,” “I Love You,” “Come Rain Or Come Shine” and “Long Ago And Far Away” make up the first side. “Gone With The Wind,” “I Wished On The Moon” and “Too Close For Comfort” follow on the second. The material comes from different parts of the American song repertoire. Cole Porter’s “I Love You” and “Long Ago And Far Away” date from 1944; Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer wrote “Come Rain Or Come Shine” for a 1946 musical. Each had circulated long before this session and carried its own melodic expectations.

That familiarity makes changes easier to follow. A listener can begin with the tune and then trace the routes Pepper and his partners develop from it. There are no original compositions on the album. “Five Points,” which appears in some digital or expanded tracklists, belongs to a later CD edition and is not one of this LP’s seven tracks. “Autumn Leaves,” recorded in the same session context, is also outside the original album. Distinguishing these programs preserves the actual sequence and scope of the record released as Intensity.

The Craft and Acoustic Sounds edition

This reissue is part of the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series: a 180-gram stereo LP playing at 33⅓ RPM. Bernie Grundman handled the lacquer cutting. Craft identifies the original analog master tapes and describes the production as AAA. Quality Record Pressings manufactures the record, and Stoughton supplies the tip-on jacket. The edition carries catalog number CR00761 and product number ACONC 761. Its contents follow the seven tracks of the original LP.

The essential point when choosing among versions is therefore clear: this is the original stereo album on one record. Later additions belong to other releases and do not change either the recording date or the original program. Within Pepper’s Contemporary recordings, Intensity offers a focused approach to his treatment of standards and his work with Coker, Bond and Butler. Familiar songs provide orientation; the album’s story lies in how four musicians use that common ground differently from one piece to the next. The recording year remains 1960, while the first album release belongs to 1963.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

More by Art Pepper: Meets The Rhythm Section · New York Album

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, bandleaderParticipation: Album personnel
• Dolo CokerpianoParticipation: Album personnel
• Jimmy Bonddouble bassParticipation: Album personnel
• Frank ButlerdrumsParticipation: Album personnel

Four musicians, seven original LP tracks. “Five Points” is CD bonus material and is not included.