JazzTimes – October 2019

42 JAZZTIMES SEPTEMBER 2019

E

arly in his memoir, Straight Life,

the late jazz legend Art Pepper

relates a story about being in the

U.S. Army during World War II, sta-

tioned in London. Once, on a day when

he had some free time, he met a young

woman on the street near Piccadilly

Circus. They spent the day drinking Old

Kuchenheimer beer and wandering the

city, occasionally canoodling, kissing,

and rubbing up against each other. As

night fell, Art demanded sex. The woman

resisted. So he dragged her into a dark

cemetery and took it.

The word “rape” is not used, but it’s

clear what occurred. The irony is that

Pepper contracted a venereal disease

from the encounter.

A few pages later in the book, after

Pepper has returned to his hometown

of Los Angeles, he describes a sexual

compulsion so strong that he becomes

a Peeping Tom, drilling holes in hotel

room walls to spy on adjoining guests

having sex, and prowling his neighbor-

hood to peek into windows at women

showering while he masturbates.

Straight Life was published in 1979.

There’s a good chance that today, in

the #MeToo era, the book would never

have found a publisher. If it had, there’s

a good chance that no nightclub would

book Art Pepper, nor any record label

sign him to a deal.

What made the book so shocking

then is what makes it shocking now:

unadulterated, raw truth-telling with no

sugar coating and not much self-analy-

sis. What you see is what you get.

The experience is greatly enhanced if

you have knowledge of Pepper’s style of

playing—his voice on the horn—which

was one of sheer beauty. His tone was

melodic, his phrasing often sensitive

and gentle. The notes tumbled out of

his alto saxophone with such warmth JA

N^ P

ERS

SO

N/C

TSI

MA

GES

After

Life

Why Art Pepper’s Straight

Life is still the most

harrowing jazz memoir

ever written—40 years

after its publication

By T.J. English

Art Pepper in 1980

x Book Review: Laurie Pepper’s ART: Why I Stuck with a Junkie Jazzman