Art Pepper (1925–1982) was called the greatest alto saxophonist of the post-Charlie Parker generation. But his autobiography,<I>Straight Life</I>, is much more than a jazz book—it is one of the most explosive, yet one of the most lyrical, of all autobiographies. This edition is updated with an extensive afterword by Laurie Pepper covering Art Pepper’s last years, and a complete and up-to-date discography by Todd Selbert.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Art and Laurie Pepper's The Straight Life is an especially close and personal telling of Art's life as a musician, partner and addict. It also speaks of the jazz community as well as that of the hustler and prisoner. One winces in amazement at the trials Pepper goes through with his addiction but there is also rejoicing in his triumphs and the joy he felt through his music.
It reads well and I was captivated the entire story. The reader gets an opportunity to hear Art's story from many of those who knew him. I valued this aspect as a broader perspective was gained.
It reads well and I was captivated the entire story. The reader gets an opportunity to hear Art's story from many of those who knew him. I valued this aspect as a broader perspective was gained.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This brutal portrait of jazz virtuoso Art Pepper reads like a Bosch painting of the infernal pits of Hell...from drug addiction to peeping tom to armed robbery ... and doin time in San Quentin Art Pepper's fall from grace and eventual comeback late in life is related in hard as nails prose...throw in some of the best accounts of Jazz biography with opinions and rants on Miles Davis, Coletrane, Louis Armstrong and others and you have a redemptive, brutal look into the tortured heart of a true criminal/addict/musician...for Pepper was all three and considered each elemental in the struggle of his existence...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Levinson
Format:Paperback
There's no insight into Art's music here on a technical level, but it's very revealing on an emotional level. Once he started using heroin, his life became a self-destructive cycle of endless quests for the next fix. This is more of a junkie-prison memoir than a story of jazz music, although heroin was tragically a common thread in the lives of many jazz musicians of his era. Unfortunately for Art, he spent more time in jail than most of his peers did for those illegal pleasures.
His experience appears to belie the gateway theory on marijuana, since he was only a casual user of pot before he started on heroin, and it was no more significant to him than alcohol. He relates little interest in marijuana or alcohol once he started on heroin, though he popped plenty of pills and even sniffed glue in his efforts to calm the monkey on his back and relieve his need for smack. If anything, tobacco might have been the real gateway drug for Art, since his inability to kick that habit was the thing that eventually forced him to leave the Syanon rehab center.
I strongly recommend this book to any fan of Art's who'd like to have some idea of what might have been going on in his head during his different recording periods, or anyone else who might appreciate a brutal, unflinching account of an addict's life.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
GRIPPING
Just an incredible book/life/story of a jazz genius who was hooked on heroin (and then later toward the end of his life on cocaine, etc.) Pepper pulls no punches in the telling. Read more
Published on Jun 7 2002 by Kirk Alex
4.0 out of 5 stars
Straight Life - The Story of Art Pepper
An apt title, as Art Pepper tells in his own words what he did, and how he felt about it. Pepper was one of the finest alto saxophonists of all time but also a tortured individual... Read more
Published on Feb 19 2002 by James Spaulding
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another junky story with jazz as a sub-text
I discovered jazz music by listening to Willis Conover's jazz program on the Voice of America. But at midpoint in "Straight Life" I found myself wondering about the music that I'd... Read more
Published on Aug 28 2001 by Nils Young
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Troubled Life
Straight Life is one of the most honest narratives I had ever read.This is an example to what alcohol and drugs can do to an individual. Read more
Published on July 30 2001 by Victor L. Sacino
5.0 out of 5 stars
FRIGHTENING
THE ONLY TIME THAT I COULD PUT THIS BOOK DOWN WAS WHEN I HAD TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE HORROR OF ART PEPPER'S LIFE. Read more
Published on May 31 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece!
Straight Life is at once an all revealing portrait of man and musician. The battle for sanity, sobriety and identity. There is a little bit of Art Pepper in all of us. Read more
Published on Aug 31 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brutally honest self-portrait
I have read this book twice now. The first time I read it, being a fanatical fan of Art Pepper and having seen him at his best, and worst, I was looking for reasons why Art had... Read more
Published on Aug 1 1999 by Will Goede (willgoede@home.com)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Book!
This is one of the most powerful and moving autobiographies I have ever read, in any context. In the sphere of jazz, it is unsurpassed. Read more
Published on Feb 19 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Book!
This is one of the most powerful and moving autobiographies I have ever read, in any context. In the sphere of jazz, it is unsurpassed. Read more
Published on Feb 19 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reading Straight Life 4 times over the last 10 years finally
Reading Straight Life 4 times over the last 5 years finally motivated me to listen to some jazz...
Straight Life is one of those few books that I feel compelled to re-read every... Read more
Published on May 12 1998 by markly@home.com
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