In 1977, Japanese label Atlas Records struck a deal with then erstwhile jazz icon
Art Pepper for an ongoing series of albums. Although it was
Pepper's deal, to avoid contract issues with the Fantasy/Galaxy label, he conscripted other artists to headline these "comeback" records. Originally issued in 1982 as High Jingo, the 2017 Omnivore compilation
Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions, Vol. 3: Lee Konitz, is a lively set that brings together all the tracks recorded by
Pepper and
Konitz for Atlas. As with the other reissues in Omnivore's series, this volume was produced by
Pepper's wife and longtime manager
Laurie, who also supplies welcome insight via her liner notes. Joining the saxophonists were longtime
Pepper favorites including pianist
Michael Lang, bassist
Bob Magnusson, and drummer
John Dentz. Though they both started out as cool jazz stalwarts who cut their teeth with
Stan Kenton's Orchestra,
Pepper and
Konitz had cut diverse trails by the time they reunited in 1982.
Pepper had infamously spent time in jail and rehab due to drug issues and developed into a hard swinging and deeply emotive soloist. By contrast,
Konitz was a cerebral player in the
Warne Marsh mold, inclined to slow-build improvisations and a measured reticence. Nonetheless, they got along quite well and their distinctive stylistic differences is what helps make these tracks so compelling. Primarily, they stick to comfortable standards, kicking things off with a breezy reading of
George Gershwin's "S'Wonderful," and then settling into a soulfully half-lidded take on bassist
Paul Chambers' "Whims of Chambers," which
Pepper originally recorded with the bassist on 1960's
Gettin' Together. We also get a particularly fascinating juxtaposition on the ballad "The Shadow of Your Smile," in which
Pepper plays a sweet-toned clarinet. Elsewhere, they spar with jovial camaraderie on
Konitz's sly, aptly titled "A Minor Blues in F," dive headlong into
Pepper's speedy "High Jingo," and deliver a celebratory, dancer-like rendition of
Iosif Ivanovici's Romanian waltz "The Anniversary Song." As with many of the other albums
Pepper recorded during his time with Atlas, the
Konitz sessions have a warm, off-the-cuff energy, made even more electric by the decades of experience shared between the two saxophonists.