Blue Note's The Return of Art Pepper: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings compiles the 13 final masters that the alto saxophonist recorded for Aladdin between August 1956 and January 1957. These are titled
The Return of Art Pepper, since they were recorded shortly after he completed a jail sentence in 1956. As a result,
Pepper's chops are a little rusty, but you can hear that he still has a passion for playing, and he does improve over the course of these tracks. For serious
Pepper fans, it's worth a listen, but for less dedicated fans, there are better places to become acquainted with his work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine