A Night in Tunisia

AMG Review of A Night in Tunisia

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

Altoist Art Pepper was nearing the turning point in his career at the time that he performed the concert at Half Moon Bay, CA, that is included on this Storyville CD. He had been back on the scene for two years and had not quite broken through to the wider jazz audience yet, but major successes were in the near future. It is obvious from his talking to the audience that Pepper was still unsure about his future, but his playing on this date (with a pickup group comprised of pianist Smith Dobson, bassist Jim Nichols and drummer Brad Bilhorn) finds him in top form, creating emotional versions of "A Night in Tunisia" and his three originals "Mr. Yohe," "The Trip" and "Lost Life." Since there are only 40 minutes of music on the CD and this was not one of Pepper's strongest groups, the release is not essential for all jazz fans, but fans of the unique altoist will want to pick up these interesting performances.