A Trip in San Quentin

Art Pepper was a gifted jazz alto saxophonist and junky. The crimes he committed to support his habit were punished by incarceration in San Quentin prison. Pepper recounted that prisoners in the yard would walk up to others there and ask a man to "take them on a trip".They were asking him to tell a story about something in their life that could take their minds away from prison life. It could be about an exploit the storyteller had been on, a memorable romantic encounter with a woman, something that happened when they were kids, something they dreamed about. Pepper said the men would close their eyes and try to live in their minds what the storyteller had experienced. Those trips led Pepper to write this tune "The Trip". The storytellers for this Trip, are Pepper, drummer Elvin Jones, who had also done prison time, pianist George Cable, who had a special musical link with Pepper and bassist David Williams. They make a floating, dreamy sound together with a deep bottom. Pepper's melody and solo bring to mind something out in eastern lands.