Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol 5: Stuttgart May 25, 1981 (2010)

In May 1981, Art Pepper and his wife Laurie along with pianist Picture 1 Milcho Leviev, bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Carl Burnett left for Europe. For the entire month, the alto saxophonist and his trio were on the road playing 18 concerts across the continent. In recent years, Laurie has released several recordings of Art in action on her Widow's Taste label, including Art Pepper: The Croydon Concert, a U.K. event that was recorded during the May 1981 tour (see review here).
Now Laurie has released a fifth volume of Pepper's previously unissued work, and it's a mind-blowing powerhouse example of Pepper in superb form. The album, Stuttgart May 25, 1981 is a double CD set that features Pepper in Germany in an almost trance state, roaring out stellar versions of For Freddie, Straight Life, Yours Is My Heart Alone, Over the Rainbow and others. The recording's sound is vivid and clear to the ear, and the heat the group throws off is coherent and spring-loaded. To me, Stuttgart is Pepper's finest live work from this period and Laurie's best CD set to date. (JazzWax)

Tracks:

CD1:
1. True Blues 13:16
2. Yours is My Heart Alone 11:19
3. Landscape 14:42
4. Patricia 13:48
5. For Freddie 11:57

CD2:
1. Straight Life 8:39
2. Avalon 7:10
3. Make a List (Make a Wish) 24:01
4. Over the Rainbow 13:03
5. Cherokee 12:05

Personnel:

Art Pepper: alto saxophone, clarinet;
Milcho Leviev: piano;
Bob Magnusson: bass;
Carl Burnett: drums.