Jim Gilbert Pepper II (June 18, 1941 – February 10, 1992) was a jazz saxophonist, composer and singer of

Kaw Kaw or KAW may refer to: Mythology * Kaw (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology * Johnny Kaw, mythical settler of Kansas, US * Kaw (character), in ''The Chronicles of Prydain'' People * Kaw people, a Native American tribe Places * Kaw, Fr ...

and

Muscogee Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsNative American heritage. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1964, where he came to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of

The Free Spirits The Free Spirits was an American band credited as the first jazz-rock group. The band also incorporated elements of pop and garage rock. Their first album ''Out of Sight and Sound'' was recorded in 1966 and released in 1967. History The band for ...

, an early jazz-rock fusion group that also featured

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

and

Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...

. Pepper went on to have a lengthy career in jazz, recording almost a dozen albums as a bandleader and many more as featured soloist. Pepper and

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

played tenor sax alongside each other in a band led by drummer

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the l ...

, recording three LPs in 1984, 1985 and 1987. Motian described Pepper's playing as "post- Coltrane".

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

(Choctaw/African American) was among those who encouraged Pepper to bring more of his Native culture into his music, and the two collaborated extensively. Pepper died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

aged 50.

Early life

Jim Pepper was born on June 18, 1941, to Gilbert and Floy Pepper in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He grew up in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. He attended

Parkrose High School Parkrose High School is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is the only high school in the Parkrose School District. Academics In 2008, 72% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 231 students, 167 gradua ...

and

Madison High School Madison High School may refer to: * Madison County High School (Alabama), Gurley, Alabama * Madison High School (Idaho), Rexburg, Idaho * Madison Consolidated High School, Madison, Indiana * Madison High School (Kansas), Madison, Kansas * Kentucky ...

Music career

Beginning in the late 1960s, Pepper became a pioneer of

fusion jazz Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

. His band,

(active between 1965 and 1968, with guitarist

), is credited as the first to combine elements of jazz and rock. His primary instrument was the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

(he also played

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

). Of

and

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

heritage, Pepper also achieved notoriety for his compositions combining elements of jazz and

Native American music Indigenous music of North America, which includes American Indian music or Native American music, is the music that is used, created or performed by Indigenous peoples of North America, including Native Americans in the United States and Abori ...

and

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

encouraged Pepper to reflect his roots and heritage and incorporate it into his jazz playing and composition. He was a musical director for ''Night of the First Americans'', a Native American self-awareness benefit concert at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and played also at numerous

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

s. Pepper supported the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...

. Pepper was a member of the short-lived band ''Everything Is Everything'' with Chris Hills, Lee Reinoehl, Chip Baker, John Waller and Jim Zitro. Their 1969 self-titled sole album spawned the near-hit single "Witchi Tai To" (which received abundant airplay reaching number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and on which Pepper was the lead singer). It was issued on Vanguard Apostolic and UK Vanguard in England, and is the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop chart

His "Witchi Tai To" (derived from a

peyote song Peyote songs are a form of Native American music, now most often performed as part of the Native American Church. They are typically accompanied by a rattle and water drum, and are used in a ceremonial aspect during the sacramental taking of p ...

of the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...

which he had learned from his grandfather) is the most famous example of his hybrid (jazz/Native American) style; the song has been covered by many other artists including

Harper's Bizarre Harpers Bizarre was an American sunshine pop band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/sunshine pop sound and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." Career Harpers Bizarre was formed out of th ...

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was born i ...

(with and without

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

, Pete Wyoming Bender,

Brewer & Shipley Brewer & Shipley are an American folk rock duo who enjoyed their peak success in the late 1960s through the 1970s, consisting of singer-songwriters Mike Brewer (born on April 14, 1944) and Tom Shipley (born on April 1, 1941). They were known ...

, Larry Smith under the pseudonym of Topo D. Bill, and a version recorded by

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

in 1969 that went unreleased until 2022. It was also covered in 1973 by Quebec singer-songwriter Robert Charlebois. In his own projects, Pepper recorded with

Naná Vasconcelos Juvenal de Holanda Vasconcelos, known as Naná Vasconcelos (2 August 1944 – 9 March 2016), was a Brazilian percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, notable for his work as a solo artist on over two dozen albums, and as a backing musician wi ...

Collin Walcott Collin Walcott (April 24, 1945 – November 8, 1984) was an American musician who worked in jazz and world music. Early life Walcott was born in New York City, United States. He studied violin and tympani in his youth, and was a percussion stud ...

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young a ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

Ed Schuller Edwin Gunther Schuller (January 11, 1955) is an American jazz bassist and composer. His father is Gunther Schuller, a composer, horn player, and music professor, and his younger brother is drummer George Schuller. Career A native of New York Ci ...

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...

, and many others. His CD ''Comin' and Goin' '' (1984) is the definitive statement of Pepper's unique "American Indian jazz" with nine songs played by four different line-ups. It was also the first CD issued by the then-new all-CD label

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...

. He also worked with the

Liberation Music Orchestra Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

' s quintet,

Marty Cook Marty Cook (born May 1947) is an American jazz trombonist. Biography Cook was born in New York and raised in Ohio, where he began playing trombone at age seven. He played in New York in the late 1960s, recording with Marzette Watts in 1968. He p ...

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

David Friesen David Friesen (born May 6, 1942 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American jazz bassist. He plays double bass and electric upright bass. Career Friesen began playing bass while serving in the United States Army in Germany. He played with John Hand ...

Tony Hymas Anthony James Keith "Tony" Hymas (born 23 September 1943) is an English keyboard player, pianist, and composer. Career Hymas started as a chorister at Exeter Cathedral School, where his contemporaries included composer and cathedral organist Ba ...

and

Amina Claudine Myers Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger. Biography Born in Blackwell, Arkansas, "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a c ...

, and toured Europe extensively throughout his career. While anecdotal mention of Pepper having played the saxophone solo on the

Classics IV The Classics IV is an American band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. The band, founded by Dennis Yost, is known mainly for the hits "Spooky," " Stormy," and "Traces," released 1967 to 1969, which have become cover standards ...

hit "

Spooky Spooky or Spookey may refer to: something that will cause creepiness or uncanniness. Arts and entertainment Music Musicians * Spooky (house music duo) * Spookey (UK band), a 1970s soul band based in Manchester *DJ Spooky, musician and producer * ...

" exists, this has been rather definitively credited to "Spooky" 's cowriter, Michael (Mike Sharpe) Shapiro, by Classics IV official biographer, Joe Glickman, and others.

Death and legacy

Jim Pepper died on February 10, 1992, of

. In 1998, composer

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

arranged, conducted and recorded ''Witchi Tai To: The Music of Jim Pepper'' for symphony orchestra and jazz band. Pepper was posthumously granted the ''Lifetime Musical Achievement Award'' by

First Americans in the Arts First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote" Native Americans in the United States Native Ame ...

in 1999, and in 2000 he was inducted into the

Native American Music Award The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit ...

s Hall of Fame. In 2005 the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

honored the extraordinary accomplishments and musical legacy of Pepper. In April 2007, the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

accepted Pepper's saxophone and hat at a ceremony honoring his music and legacy.

Discography

* '' Pepper's Pow Wow'' (

Embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

, 1971) * ''

Comin' and Goin' ''Comin' and Goin is the second album led by Native Americans in the United States, Native American saxophonist and composer Jim Pepper recorded in 1983 and first released on the French Europa label.Dakota Song'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...

, 1987) * '' Art of the Duo'' (Tutu, 1988) with

* ''The Path'' (Enja, 1988) * ''West End Avenue'' (Nagal, 1989) with Christoph Spendel,

Ron McClure Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist. Early life McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph I ...

and Reuben Hoch * ''Camargue'' (Pan, 1989) with the Claudine François Trio * ''Flying Eagle: Live at New Morning, Paris'' (1989) * ''Remembrance'' (Tutu, 1990) * ''Polar Bear Stomp'' (Universal, 1991

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

* ''Afro Indian Blues'' (PAO, 1991 2006) with

, Anthony Cox and Leopoldo Fleming With Everything Is Everything * ''Everything Is Everything'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

, 1969) With

* ''Out of Sight and Sound'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, 1967) * ''Live at the Scene'' (Sunbeam, 2011)

As sideman

With Archie James Cavanaugh * ''Black and White Raven'' (BWR, 1980) With

* ''Nightwork'' (Enja, 1987) * ''Red, White, Black & Blue'' (Enja, 1987) With

* '' Coryell'' (Vanguard, 1969) With

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...

* '' The Belle of Avenue A'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

, 1969) With Gordon Lee * ''Land Whales in New York'' (Gleeful, 1982

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...

With

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

* ''

The Ballad of the Fallen ''The Ballad of the Fallen'' is a jazz album by bassist Charlie Haden, with arrangements by Carla Bley, that was recorded in 1982 and released in 1983. The album was voted jazz album of the year in ''Down Beat'' magazine's 1984 critic's poll. ...

'' ( ECM, 1983) With Sandy Hurvitz * ''Sandy's Album Is Here At Last'' (Verve, 1967) With

* '' Oyaté'' (Nato, 1990) With

* '' The Story of Maryam'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1984) * '' Jack of Clubs'' (Soul Note, 1985) * '' Misterioso'' (Soul Note, 1987) With

* ''Love Animal'' (

Amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...

, 1968

* ''When Elephants Dream of Music'' (

Gramavision Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres. In 1979, Jonathan F.P. ...

, 1983) With Cam Newton * ''Welcome Aliens'' (

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

, 1979) With Ray and the Wolf Gang * ''The Blues Can't Turn You Loose'' (Gray Cats, 1987) With Nana Simopoulos * ''Wings and Air'' (Enja, 1986) With

* ''

Remembering the Moment ''Remembering the Moment'' is a live album by David Friesen, Eddie Moore, Jim Pepper, Julian Priester and Mal Waldron recorded in Portland, Oregon in 1987 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. Bio ...

, Eddie Moore &

(Soul Note, 1987) * '' Quadrologue at Utopia'' (Tutu, 1989) * '' More Git' Go at Utopia'' (Tutu, 1989) With Peter Walker * ''Second Poem to Karmela or Gypsies Are Important'' (Vanguard, 1968) With the World Music Orchestra * ''East West Suite'' (Granite, 1990)Siegal, B
Discography of Jim Pepper's Work
accessed November 12, 2015

Filmography

*''Pepper's Pow Wow'' (1995). Directed by Sandra Sunrising Osawa. Seattle, Washington: Upstream Productions.

References

The Encyclopedia of Native Music niversity of Arizona Press, 2005 Brian Wright-McLeod

External links

"Jazz and The Politics of Identity: The Legacy of Jim Pepper" (In Motion Magazine)
Oregon Historical Quarterly Spring, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Jim Native American composers Native American singers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz saxophonists Jazz tenor saxophonists Jazz soprano saxophonists American male saxophonists Jazz fusion musicians Avant-garde jazz musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century American male musicians The Free Spirits members Musicians from Portland, Oregon Parkrose High School alumni Muscogee people Kaw people Deaths from cancer in Oregon Deaths from lymphoma 1941 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Native Americans Leodis V. McDaniel High School alumni