VA - The Art of Pepper - Complete Master Takes of Omega Sessions (2008)

This CD presents the complete master takes from the legendary 1957 "Omega Sessions". The first eleven tracks were originally marketed on two 7 1/2 ips reel-to-reel stereophonic tapes by the Omegatape label, between 1957 and 1958. "Summertime" was not issued until the early 1980's on Lp on the Nadja label in Japan. The two previously unreleased tracks appear here for the first time. However, both tracks are missing from the so-called "The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings" marketed by the Mosaic and Blue Note record labels.

The recordings were made on April 1 & 2, 1957 at the small Audio Arts Studio in Hollywood and the man who made them possible was Don Clark, a young disc jockey, concert promoter and Pepper fan, who in June 1956, become a good friend of the altoist. At that time, Art Pepper had been just released after serving 19 months in prison for heroin possession and Clark began acting as his personal manager, contributing to Pepper's rapid and successful return to the jazz scene. Clark after being directly involved in booking gigs and also in some of the most brilliant LPs Art Pepper recorded in those days, was finally able to reach his dream of becoming a record producer when he was appointed president of Intro Records at the end of 1956. "Clark brought Art Pepper to the label and that's how he got the job. THAT was his connection. ART was his ticket. It provided Clark with a job, and it got Art on wax, as we used to say in the old days," stated West Coast journalist John Tynan.