Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.
Biography
Early life
Pepper Adams was born in
Highland Park, Michigan
Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Along with its neighbor of Hamtramck, Highland Park is an enclave city surrounded by the city of Detroit.
History
The area tha ...
, to father Park Adams II, who worked as the manager of a
furniture store
A furniture retailer, furniture store or furniture shop is a retail businesses that sells furniture and related accessories. Furniture retailers usually sell general furniture (like beds, tables, bookcases and wardrobes), seats and upholstered ...
, and mother Cleo Marie Coyle. Both of his parents were college graduates, with each spending some time at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Due to the onset of the Great Depression, Adams' parents separated to allow his father to find work without geographic dependence. In the fall of 1931, Adams moved with his mother to his extended family's farm near
Columbia City, Indiana
Columbia City is a city in Columbia Township, Whitley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,892 (2020 Census), growing by 13% since the 2010 Census. The city is the county seat of Whitley County.
History
The Whitley Count ...
, where food and support were more readily available. In 1933, Adams began playing piano. His father having reunited with the family, they moved to
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, in 1935 and in that city he began his musical efforts on tenor sax and clarinet. Two years later, Adams began deepening his developing passion for music by listening to Fats Waller's daily radio show. He was also influenced at a young age by listening to Fletcher Henderson's big band radio broadcasts out of Nashville,
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway. Adams would later describe " istime up until the age of eight or so sreally just traveling from one place to another". As early as fourth grade, Adams sold cigarettes and candy door-to-door in order to contribute to his family's income for essential items.
Adams' interest in performing further grew in sixth grade when the public school system offered a loaned musical instrument to any student who was interested, and further musical instruction if he could get into the school band. Initially Adams chose the trumpet, then the trombone, but eventually settled on the clarinet, which he played in the school band. The following year Adams attained his lifelong nickname of "Pepper" due to former
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
star
Pepper Martin
Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...
signing on to manage and play for the hometown minor league team, the Rochester Red Wings. Adams' classmates saw a resemblance between the two, and the nickname stuck. Later in his career, Adams also attained the nickname "the Knife" for "his 'slashing and chopping technique', which had a humbling effect upon musicians fortunate enough to gig with him".
In 1943, Adams skipped school for a week in order to see Ellington play local gigs. He eventually met
Rex Stewart
Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra.
Career
As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...
, who further introduced him to Harry Carney and other band members. This led to Adams being able to take lessons from Skippy Williams, who was the tenor saxophonist in Ellington's band. Adams switched to the tenor saxophone in the fall of 1943 due to his jobs as a box cutter in the mail order room of a jazz store and an usher at a movie theater, which gave him enough money to buy the instrument. His job at the jazz store also allowed him to listen to all of the newest available jazz records and led to his emulation of
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
, who he had heard play locally in 1945, and interest in the music of
Don Byas
Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...
. Adams' first steady gig came in 1946 with a six-piece group led by Ben Smith, which then caused him to drop out of school in the 11th grade due to working six nights a week.
Early playing career
At age 16, Adams and his mother moved to Detroit, where he soon began playing with
Willie Wells
Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "The Devil," was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America.
Wells was a fast ...
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 6, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, including Cl ...
,
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...
, and Willie Anderson. He had received casual instruction from
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.
Biography
Early years
Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chil ...
and
Billy Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
, and played with a group led by
Little John Wilson
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
as well. Through the employee discount from his job at Grinnell's, a music store in Detroit, Adams purchased what would become his main instrument: the baritone saxophone. He initially purchased a used Bundy baritone saxophone, but later traded it in for a new Selmer 'Balanced Action' E-flat baritone in 1948, which he used until 1978. This switch proved to be successful, as he was soon playing in
Lucky Thompson
Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano sa ...
's band.Feather, Leonard and Ira Gitler. ''Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Oxford University Press, 1999. p.5-6 In Detroit, Adams also met several jazz musicians who would become future performing partners, including trumpeter Donald Byrd. He attended Wayne State University. Adams became interested in Wardell Gray's approach to the saxophone, later naming Gray and Harry Carney as his influences. He also spent time in a United States Army band, and briefly had a tour of duty in Korea.
Upon returning from Korea, Adams began playing at the Blue Bird Inn in Detroit where he played with
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
Biography
Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...
under the leadership of Beans Richardson. When Jones left to play with
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
, Adams then became the music director at the Blue Bird. In late 1954 Adams left the Blue Bird to join
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
's group at Klein's Show Bar, also in Detroit, where he would later become musical director following Burrell's departure. Following the recommendation of friend
Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom.
Biography
Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...
, Adams joined the
Stan Kenton Orchestra
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...
in 1956, where he played for a majority of the year until leaving the group to form a new ensemble with
Lee Katzman
Lee Katzman (May 17, 1928 – August 1, 2013) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Biography
Katzman was Chicago-born and Indianapolis-raised. In his early career, Katzman played primarily in big band settings. Arriving in New York in the late 40's, ...
and
Mel Lewis
Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations.
Biography
Early years
Lewis was ...
in Los Angeles. Before moving to California, Adams also recorded with
Kenny Clarke
Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
. In April 1957, Adams joined Chet Baker's group, where he played for about a year.
He later moved to New York City, where he performed on the album '' Baritones and French Horns'' with
Cecil Payne
Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...
(later re-issued as ''
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
'' as by
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
, who also played on the album), worked with Lee Morgan on '' The Cooker'', and briefly worked with Benny Goodman's band in 1958. During this time, Adams also began working with Charles Mingus, performing on one of Mingus's
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
albums of the period, '' Blues & Roots'', which includes Adams' extended solo on "Moanin'". Thereafter, he recorded with Mingus sporadically until the latter's death in 1979. Adams formed a quintet with Donald Byrd in 1958 that lasted until 1961. Following the breakup of the Donald Byrd–Pepper Adams Quintet, Adams lacked a consistent band association until 1965 and the formation of the Thad Jones–Pepper Adams Quintet. During this phase, he performed with the likes of Teddy Charles,
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
, and Lionel Hampton. In September 1963, Adams made an agreement with Motown Records for an exclusive recording contract and an exclusive management contract with International Talent Management, a Motown affiliate. Prior to signing with Motown, Adams turned down an offer from
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
to play in his Las Vegas-based band because it was extremely commercial and presented few opportunities to solo, despite its $10,000 annual salary.
Partnership with Thad Jones
He later became a founding member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, with whom he played from 1965 to 1976, and thereafter continued to record Jones's compositions on many of his own albums. Adams also co-led a quintet with Donald Byrd from 1958 to 1962, with whom he recorded a live date, '' 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot'' ( Riverside), featuring
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
, and a sequence of albums for
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
in New York City, along with many colleges and other locations around the United States, Europe, and Asia. The 18-year period spent with
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
Biography
Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...
was filled with almost constant touring when the band was not playing their steady gig at the
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
. One of the ensemble's most frequent performing locations outside the United States was the
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Solo career
Adams' solo career began in 1977 in California, where he initially stayed with John and Ron Marabuto. He soon played gigs with Mingus, Baker, and Hampton, with whom he went on a two-month European tour in 1978. On March 18, 1978, Adams purchased a new Selmer baritone saxophone that served as his interim back-up instrument for his original saxophone that he had been using since 1948. In 1979, Adams played several gigs with
Per Husby
Per Husby (born 2 April 1949 in Oslo) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, teacher, civil engineer, and orchestra leader.
Career
Husby was raised in Oslo together with other jazz enthusiasts like jazz journalist Knut Borge. The following day Adams premiered his new set-up at One Step Down in Washington, D.C.
Adams began composing "Urban Dreams" on July 29, 1980, on a flight to London for a short European tour. Adams finally replaced his original Selmer E-flat 'Balanced Action' baritone saxophone in December 1980 after 31 years of use. In 1981, Adams performed with Rein de Graaff's trio, Per Husby's trio, and the Franco D'Andrea trio for three short European tours. When in New York City, Adams performed at Fat Tuesday's several times during this period of his career, one of which, '' Conjuration: Fat Tuesday's Session'', earned him a Grammy nomination in 1984 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance as a Soloist. In later years, Adams toured England and continental Europe several times, performing there with local rhythm sections, and he performed with a Count Basie tribute band at the Grande Parade du Jazz in Nice.
Leg injury and end of career
Adams' life was severely altered by the leg injury he sustained in December 1983, which was caused by his car's parking brake becoming disengaged on his slanted driveway. This led the car to pin Adams up against his garage door, crushing his leg and restricting him to bed rest for the following five months. Despite the long recovery from his injury, Adams began playing again and exhibited his love for performing in October 1984 by flying from New York City all the way to Singapore for a one-night gig, then returning two days later. He eventually regained the strength in his leg to move without the use of a wheelchair or cane in January 1985, after more than a year of recovery.
Adams was a
chain smoker
Chain smoking is the practice of smoking several cigarettes in succession, sometimes using the ember of a finished cigarette to light the next. The term chain smoker often also refers to a person who smokes relatively constantly, though not nece ...
for most of his life. While in Sweden in March 1985, he visited a chest specialist at the suggestion of a friend, Gunnar Windahl, and was diagnosed with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
. He was hospitalized for testing later that month in New York, then was forced to take a break from performing or traveling for two months that summer in order to undergo radiation treatments. A benefit concert was held for Adams on September 29, 1985, in New York City that featured Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster,
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
,
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...
, and the
Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965.Lisik/Allen. 50 Years at the Village Vanguard:Thad Jone, Mel Lewis and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Sky Deck ...
, among others. Despite his various health issues, Adams continued pushing himself professionally, which was exemplified by his stretch in Dublin, Ireland, April 4–6, 1986, when he played five gigs over three days with five different bands.
Adams was diagnosed with
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
in April 1986 and died of lung cancer in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
in Montreal as part of the
Montreal Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...
. Before counting off the first song, he received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Style
Pepper Adams was in many ways the antithesis of near-contemporary baritone players
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...
and
Serge Chaloff
Serge Chaloff (November 24, 1923 – July 16, 1957) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. The first and greatest bebop baritonist, Chaloff has been described as 'the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has ever ...
, who favored melodic
cool jazz
Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangements an ...
. In contrast, Adams managed to bring the cumbersome baritone into the blisteringly fast speeds of
hard bop
Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
.Cook, Richard and Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books, 2004. p. 10 Gary Carner, Adams's biographer, described his style as having "very long, tumbling, double-time melodic lines. And that raw, piercing, bark-like timbre." Adams "succeeded in elevating he baritone saxophoneto the level of all other solo instruments
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
blinding speed, penetrating timbre, distinctive sound, harmonic ingenuity, precise articulation, confident time-feel, and use of melodic paraphrase". Throughout his career, Adams consistently chose musical expression over large paychecks, as " erepeatedly recalled with great satisfaction his decision to play n groups focused on musical expressionrather than to change his style to secure better paying jobs with now little-known white musicians". A large part of Adams' appeal was that " ehad the remarkable ability to blow low with enormous power and swing, becoming a hefty addition to big band reed sections. He also was an equally dominant voice in small groups, adding ferocious excitement and stamina".
Despite his prowess at hard bop, Adams was also adept at ballads and slower numbers. An example is his contribution to the album '' Chet'' (1958) including a solo on the bittersweet " Alone Together" that critic Dave Nathan described as "one of the album's high points".Nathan, D.
Allmusic Review
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
accessed March 19, 2010
Awards and honors
He won '' DownBeat''s New Star award in 1957 and was named baritone soloist of the year for 1980. Adams was nominated three times for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
, including nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance as a Soloist for '' Reflectory'' in 1979 and Best Jazz Soloist for '' The Master...''. In the 1975 ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' magazine annual music poll, he was named an All Star's All-Star. In 1967 Adams received the Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition award from '' DownBeat''. From 1979 to 1982, Adams won the award for best baritone saxophonist from ''DownBeat''s International Jazz Critics' Poll on four consecutive occasions, something Adams attributed to his frequent touring of Europe throughout his career. In December 1982, Adams won the ''DownBeat'' Readers' Poll award for the best baritone saxophonist in the world, unseating Gerry Mulligan, who had held that distinction since 1953.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
*'' Baritones and French Horns'' (Prestige, 16rpm LP issue, 1957) with the Prestige All Stars; conventional LP release of session led by Adams as ''
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
'' under
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
Jimmy Knepper
James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...
Motor City Scene
''Motor City Scene'', also released as ''Stardust'', is an album by American saxophonist Pepper Adams and trumpeter Donald Byrd, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bethlehem label as BCP 6056 featuring Byrd and Adams with Kenny Burrell, Tommy Fl ...
'' (
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
, 1966) with
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
Biography
Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
Bee Hive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
, 1977) with
Nick Brignola
Nicholas Thomas "Nick" Brignola (July 17, 1936 – February 8, 2002) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.
Biography
Brignola was born on July 17, 1936 in Troy, New York. He was born into a musical family in which his father played the tu ...
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
, 1978)
*''
Be-Bop?
''Be-Bop?'', is an album by baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and drummer Barry Altschul which was recorded in Paris in 1979 and released on the French Musica label.
Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, New York City) is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.
Biography
Altschul is of Russian Jewish heritage, the s ...
Urban Dreams
''Urban Dreams'', is an album by jazz baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams which was recorded in 1981 and originally released on the Palo Alto Records, Palo Alto label.
'' (
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was es ...
Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
Blue Gene
Blue Gene is an IBM project aimed at designing supercomputers that can reach operating speeds in the petaFLOPS (PFLOPS) range, with low power consumption.
The project created three generations of supercomputers, Blue Gene/L, Blue Gene/P, ...
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...
Cubicle
A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...
Ray Bryant
Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...
At the Half Note Cafe
''At the Half Note Cafe'' is a live album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1960 at the Half Note in Manhattan and released on the Blue Note label originally as two single LP issues (BLP 4060 and BLP 4061) and reissued as a double CD ...
The Cat Walk
''The Cat Walk'' is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label in 1962 as BLP 4075.
Help Me Make it Through the Night
"Help Me Make It Through The Night" is a country music ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album '' Kristofferson''. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album '' Help Me Make It Through the ...
Red's Good Groove
''Red's Good Groove'' is an album by American jazz pianist Red Garland with a quintet which was recorded in 1962 and released on the Riverside Records, Jazzland label.
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...
Barry Harris
Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style.
Life and career
Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer.
Biography Early career
As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He wa ...
*''
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
'' (Riverside, 1959)
With
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
Consummation
In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage t ...
'' (Solid State/Blue Note1970)
*'' Suite for Pops'' (A&M Horizon, 1972)
*'' Live in Tokyo'' (Denon Jazz, 1974)
*''
Potpourri
Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl.
The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French ...
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inclu ...
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...
*''
Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
'' (Atlantic, 1974)
With
Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger beb ...
Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation ...
994
Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...
With
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and ...
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
Houston Person
Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
* ''
Pony's Express
''Pony's Express'' is the debut album by saxophonist Pony Poindexter which was released on the Epic label in 1962.Fitzgerald, M.Pony Poindexter Leader Entryaccessed July 2, 2015
Reception
Ken Dryden of Allmusic stated: "It's a shame that Pony Po ...
'' (Epic, 1962)
With
Shorty Rogers
Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
, 1957)
*''
Portrait of Shorty
''Portrait of Shorty'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter composer and arranger Shorty Rogers which was released on the RCA Victor label in 1958.
Reception
Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars. On All About Jazz Jack Bowers stated "there’s p ...
'' (RCA Victor, 1957)
With
A. K. Salim
Ahmad Khatab Salim or Ahmad Kharab Salim (born Albert Atkinson on July 28, 1922) was an American jazz composer, and arranger.
Biography
Salim attended DuSable High School with Bennie Green, Dorothy Donegan and Gene Ammons and played alto saxop ...
*''
Pretty for the People
''Pretty for the People'' is an album by American jazz composer and arranger A. K. Salim featuring Kenny Dorham and Johnny Griffin recorded in 1957 for the Savoy label.Lalo Schifrin
Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...
Ben Sidran
Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer and ...
Dakota Staton
Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...
Idrees Sulieman
Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.
Biography
He was born Leonard Graham in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting to Is ...
*''
Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'' (New Jazz, 1957) with the Prestige All Stars
With
Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...
Mickey Tucker
Mickey Tucker (born Michael B. Tucker; April 28, 1941) is an American jazz pianist and organist.
Biography
Tucker was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1941. He grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania before moving back to North Carolina aged 12. When h ...
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
*''Live in Europe'' ( Marge (F), 1977) with the Georges Arvanitas Trio
*''Pepper Adams Live'' (aka ''Live Jazz by the Sea'') (1977), live in California
*''California Cookin (1983), live in California