Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.
Biography
Early life
Pepper Adams was born in Highland Park, Michigan, to father Park Adams II, who worked as the manager of a furniture store, and mother, Cleo Marie Coyle. Both of his parents were college graduates, with each spending some time at the University of Michigan.
Due to the onset of the Great Depression, Adams' parents separated to allow his father to find work without geographic dependence. Adams would later describe "[his] time up until the age of eight or so [as] really just traveling from one place to another". and interest in the music of Don Byas. His first steady gig came in 1946 with a six-piece group led by Ben Smith, which then caused him to drop out of school in the 11th grade due to working six nights a week. In Detroit, Adams also met several jazz musicians who would become future performing partners, including trumpeter Donald Byrd. He attended Wayne State University. Adams became interested in Wardell Gray's approach to the saxophone, later naming Gray and Harry Carney as his influences. He spent time in a United States Army band, and briefly had a tour of duty in Korea.
Upon returning from Korea, Adams began playing at the Blue Bird Inn in Detroit where he played with Thad Jones. When Jones left to play with Count Basie, Adams then became the music director at the Blue Bird. In late 1954, Adams left the Blue Bird to join Kenny Burrell's group at Klein's Show Bar, also in Detroit, where he would later become musical director following Burrell's departure. Adams co-led a quintet with Donald Byrd from 1958 to 1962, with whom he recorded a live date, 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (Riverside), featuring Elvin Jones, and a sequence of albums for Blue Note. During this time he also played with the Sal Salvador Big Band at the Diamond Beach Club in Wildwood, New Jersey, in August 1965, along with Teddy Charles in early 1966, and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967. While in Sweden in March 1985, he visited a thoracic specialist at the suggestion of a friend, Gunnar Windahl, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. His final performance took place on July 2, 1986, at the Spectrum in Montreal as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Before counting off the first song, he received a standing ovation from the crowd. Gary Carner, Adams's biographer, described his style as having "very long, tumbling, double-time melodic lines. And that raw, piercing, bark-like timbre."
Throughout his career, Adams consistently chose musical expression over large paychecks, as "[he] repeatedly recalled with great satisfaction his decision to play [in groups focused on musical expression] rather than to change his style to secure better paying jobs with now little-known white musicians".
Despite his prowess at hard bop, Adams was also adept at ballads and slower numbers. An example is his contribution to the album Chet (1958) including a solo on the bittersweet "Alone Together" that critic Dave Nathan described as "one of the album's high points".
Awards and honors
He won DownBeats New Star award in 1957 and was named baritone soloist of the year for 1980.
- Pepper Adams Live (aka Live Jazz by the Sea) (1977), live in California
- California Cookin (1983), live in California