Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor 41 years old

Saxophonist Art Pepper (1925-1982) lived the kind of jazz life only found in Hollywood movies. His prodigious talent led him to top gigs as a teenager, but drugs and attendant criminal activity knocked him out of commission for virtually all of the 1960s and early 1970s. This documentary, shot shortly after his searing memoir, {-Straight Life}, was published in 1979, shows Pepper in the full flower of a remarkable comeback. His third wife, Laurie, is featured prominently; they met in the drug treatment facility Synanon in 1969 and were married in 1974. She took over his business affairs and helped him write {-Straight Life}. Pepper tells his own story here, but the emphasis is on an evening's performance at a club in Malibu, with the musician in fine form, backed by a terrific trio. (Tom Wiener, Rovi)

Credits

Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor Cast

Name Character
Laurie Pepper as Herself
Art Pepper He was 57, 56 years old when he died as Himself

Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor Crew

Name Department
Don McGlynn as Director. Directing
Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor poster
Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor (41 years)

  • Release day: Friday, December 31, 1982
  • Runtime: 48 minutes