Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics [LP]

A true classic, Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics finds altoist Art Pepper joined by an 11-piece band playing Marty Paich arrangements of a dozen jazz standards from the bop and cool jazz era. Trumpeter Jack Sheldon takes a few choice solos, but the focus is very much on Pepper who is in peak form, sounding quite inspired by Paich's charts which feature the band as an active part of the music rather than just in the background. Highlights of this thoroughly enjoyable set include 'Move,' 'Four Brothers,' 'Shaw 'Nuff,' 'Anthropology,' and 'Donna Lee,' but there is not a single clunker to be heard. This special vinyl reissue is essential music for all serious jazz collections.