Art Pepper Complete 1980 Recordings at Ronnie Scott's on vinyl*

I've just noticed that Diverse in the UK are listing The Complete 1980 Recordings at Ronnie Scott's by Art Pepper, to be issued by Pure Pleasure on 10 July.

There were two LPs issued by Mole Jazz under Milcho Leviev's name (to circumvent Art's Galaxy contract), Blues For The Fisherman and True Blues. They were taken from three dates at Ronnie Scott's on 27/28/29 June 1980, so it will interesting to see if the Complete Recordings has anything previously unreleased.

Here's the Technical Note from the sleeve of Blues For The Fisherman:

Ray Staff did the original mastering so perhaps he will be doing the re-issue. I only have Fisherman, which sounds very good, although I find the drums too loud during the piano solos.

 

Great stuff. I can't get enough Art.

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

I'll have to fit this one into my budget. Thanks for the heads up.

 

"Blues for the Fisherman" is absolutely top-shelf late live Pepper. I wish he recorded more with Leviev. I love his playing.

L.

 

One of the highlights of my gig-going career is to be able to say that I was actually at the 27th June date. A real privilege to hear him in person.

I'm somewhat amazed that it was nearly 30 years ago though...

 

I've just received a newsletter from Speakers' Corner (who are closely associated with Pure Pleasure records) which has some firm news of this release here.

To summarize, this really will be the Complete Recordings, with 25 performances over 7 LPs (17 unreleased) and it will be available on 19 November. Looks like it will be a major investment for any fans of late Art, as Diverse in the UK have this for pre-order at £140, but to find this amount of unreleased, high quality recordings is remarkable, as it seemed the barrel had been very thoroughly scraped with a lot of the lo-fi live recording issued of late.

 

Track listing from Pure Pleasure:

[27th June 1980 - 1st Set]
Record 1
Blanch The Cat
Make A List Make A Wish
Ophelia
Sad A Little Bit

Record 2
Ornithology
Arthur's Blues
Red Car

[27th June 1980 - 2nd Set]
Record 3
Untitled #34
Rhythm-A-Ning
Song For Richard
Rita-San

Record 4
What's New
[28th June 1980 - 1st Set]
I'll Remember April
True Blues
Ophelia

Record 5
Make A List Make A Wish
Red Car
Stardust

Record 6
Straight Life
The Trip
[28th June 1980 - 2nd Set]
I'll Remember April
Y.I. Blues

Record 7
Goodbye
Blues For The Fisherman
In A Mellow Tone

7xLP box set including 16 page booklet
Notes by Alun Morgan and the four interviews with Art Pepper by Les Tomkins from 1979, 1980 & 1981.

Release date is now 13 December.

 

Thanks!

No word on a CD version?

L.

 

Pure Pleasure are of course vinyl only, but as Laurie Pepper has the master tapes it's possible there might be a CD version on her Widow's Taste label - depends on the deal with PP I suppose.

Louis, as you like Leviev it might be worth listening to the sample at straightlife.info of Unreleased Art, Vol V, a Stuttgart 1981 recording featuring Leviev. I expect it's from the soundboard and won't be up to the standard of the Ronnie Scott's, but hey, it's still Art Pepper.

 

Billy,

Thanks for the tip! I have the disk called "Laurie's Choice" that has several cuts with Leviev, too, but I didn't know about the disk you mention. Sounds pretty nice (better than "Laurie's Choice" SQ-wise). Cool!

L.

 

Got it ordered - looking forwards to it arriving here.

 

Well, the nice man from UPS just dropped off a parcel here containing the Art Pepper Ronnie Scott's box set that I'd ordered way back when from Acoustic Sounds. Looking forwards to enjoying this one!

 

Was this a professional recording or one of those cassette or dat shows he recorded towards the end of his career?

 

Sounds like a pro recording at the Ronnie Scott's jazz club. Sound quality is great, the vinyl pressing (so far) is great, and the music is great.

 

4 CD set to be released in April on Laurie Pepper's Widow's Taste label.

 

Good news!!

L.

 

The legendary recording session at Ronnie Scott’s in 1980,“Blues for the Fisherman,” professionally recorded, transferred at 192 kHz and remastered for CD. There are 4 cds, 25 tracks of music, 15 tracks of riotous, revealing talk plus 24 page booklet with photos and details. Price will be $22. Street Date is June 14, 2011.

There's also a free download from the session of 'I'll Remember April': http://bit.ly/li5Tvg

 

Wow, $22 for the CD set versus $250 for the vinyl. I do love vinyl, but maybe not enough to justify that price disparity.

 

BUMP! This is a great set. Don't let it slip by you.

 

CD set sounds like great value. They should give free downloads to the vinyl purchasers though

 

Listening to the records today. Great recording, great performance and ultra quiet vinyl. If you like Art Pepper, this is a must. Amazon has the box set at a decent price and with free shipping if you are looking for the LP's.

 

Does the 7-LP set include Pepper's talking in between performances? I have the 4-CD set (which has the talking) and I rather not have the segues included in the vinyl.

 

I continued my research and was able to discover that the talking (or at least some of it) is included on the LPs, albeit in somewhat muted quality that was enhanced in the CD issue (according to one). I'm still not entirely sure, though, since the back of the vinyl set lists the times for the songs (and none for any "talk") and these times correspond only with the music component of the CDs. Nevertheless, it sounds like a great set to have on vinyl, and I found a new copy for a fairly decent price (about $25 per disc). So I bought it. Can't wait. I'll report back once I give it a listen.