Art Pepper

American jazz saxophonist

Born September 1, 1925 in Gardena, California, died June 15, 1982 in Los Angeles, California

Starting on clarinet & switching to alto-sax at 13, Pepper was playing professionally with [a=Benny Carter] by the age of 17.

After being drafted for service in 1943, Pepper was a leading alto-saxophonist in the 1950's, most often associated with the West Coast Jazz scene.

A 1982 Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame inductee.