Recorded on June 14, 1978
Pepper Adams was one of the great baritone saxophonists in jazz, a totally distinctive and nimble voice on the big horn.
Backed by a superlative rhythm section, I think Reflectory is the best album he ever made.
More Pepper Adams
Other favorites include:
- Twelfth & Pingree (Enja, 1975)
- Julian (Enja, 1976)
- The Master (Muse, 1980)
- Urban Dreams (Palo Alto, 1981)
- The Adams Effect (Uptown, rec. 1985)
I agree that Reflectory is a great album by a great group. The Master (1980) on Muse is just as good. Back in the good old 1950s, Pepper Adams emerged on a horn dominated at the time by Gerry Mulligan. Pepper joined Donald Byrd to form one of the great front lines in post-bop jazz. He has appeared as sideman on numerous other recordings across his entire career.
ReplyDeleteWhat's distinctive about both Pepper and Mulligan is the apparent ease with which an unwieldy instrument like the baritone sax served as a lead solo instrument. Traditionally, baritone players were buried in large bands to sit on the bottom of fat chords. Serge Chaloff emerged from a sax section player to a solo artists in his shortened life span.
The bari paired with trumpet (as with Byrd for Pepper, and with Chet Baker and Art Farmer for Mulligan) offers a beautiful contrast and counterpoint possibilities. But Pepper could also stand as the main soloist in a quartet (which Mulligan rarely did).