Art Pepper the focus of tonight's MOJO Jazz Jambalaya session

By Lawrence Specker | lspecker@al.com  / on May 27, 2013 at 10:33 AM, updated May 27, 2013 at 10:42 AM

MOBILE, Alabama – The Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed is giving listeners a chance 

to close out their Memorial Day festivities on a classic note, with a tribute tonight to the life and music of saxophonist Art Pepper.

Pepper, who played for bandleaders including Benny Carter and Buddy Rich, is the subject of MOJO’s monthly Jazz Jambalaya session. Events in the series feature a mix of biographical information and live music; the admission price also includes a light jambalaya dinner.

Pepper rose to fame in the late 1940s and early 50s. He was highly regarded as a performer and recording artist, but from the mid-‘50s through the mid-‘60s was hampered by drug use that resulted in several stints in prison. After rebounding at the end of the ‘60s he enjoyed a productive career until his death in 1982. Late in his life he addressed his struggles in a memoir, “Straight Life,” and a related documentary, “Art Pepper: Notes From a Jazz Survivor.” The reference work “Jazz: A Rough Guide” describes the book and film as “brutally honest.”

Read more: http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/05/saxophonist_art_pepper_the_foc.html