Last updated: 3 hours ago
Jim Pepper will always be best remembered for his popular recording of "Witchi-Tai-To," a peyote chant put to music. Pepper, who is definitively profiled in the hour-long documentary Pepper's Pow Wow (available on video), infused advanced jazz with the influence of his Native American heritage. The son of a father who also played saxophone, Pepper early in life loved to tap dance. He largely taught himself both tenor and clarinet, developing a soulful sound and keeping his style open to both free expression and the influence of world music. Pepper grew up in Oklahoma and moved to New York in the mid-'60s. He was a major part of one of the first fusion groups, <a href="spotify:artist:1TCD7nhMUBTgRDd4642QTX">Free Spirits</a>, which made a record for ABC/Paramount in 1967. Pepper, who played in the "Everything Is Everything" band in the late '60s, was encouraged by <a href="spotify:artist:47odibUtrN3lnWx0p0pk2P">Ornette Coleman</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3uPWecBPNXAChysw1uOJwI">Don Cherry</a> to put more of his heritage into his music. Jim Pepper worked with <a href="spotify:artist:3Wt78tag4Ha2FU5UnKo3mB">Cherry</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3GHsUE2VmzMaweAB3RjX4m">Dewey Redman</a>, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, and his own bands. He recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:4VIPZJwfn4EGbJxYVHJ0WX">Paul Motian</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1KxSiuu474QxeIzkFzK3EP">Bob Moses</a>, and led a session apiece for Europa (1984) and Enja (1987). Pepper passed away at the age of 50 from lymphoma. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
Monthly Listeners
5,094
Monthly Listeners History
Track the evolution of monthly listeners over the last 28 days.
Followers
2,599
Followers History
Track the evolution of followers over the last 28 days.
Top Cities
93 listeners
88 listeners
60 listeners
57 listeners
55 listeners
Related Artists
Jack Jeffers
The Carla Bley Band
Arthur Blythe
Glen Moore
Chico Freeman
David Amram
Paul Bley Trio
Pharoah Sanders Quartet
Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition
Rainer Brüninghaus
