Art Pepper and The Significance of the Horn

[JayeNM]

Good stuff Wade : thanks..
Maybe we should have a " Cafe cult " led by our own revered and enigmatic guru PT..

Well.....if mandatory vasectomies are part of the deal....count me IN


(oh wait, I already did that....)

 

[Adrian63]

So ; I'm watching a few shorts about Synanon...man what a crazy place. @JayeNM ; yeah George; the compulsory vasectomy..aagghhh !!
Banning of illicit substances but actively encouraging the use of LSD !! As if the place wasn't crazy enough without half the population tripping..
Semi typical cult procedures like destroying family bonds ; shaven heads.
What possessed Art to go to this place in fact what posseses anybody . This megalomania from cult leaders is unreal..look at Jim Jones ; how can any rational human being be taken in by this ; it really makes me wonder over and again..who goes and buys into this " life choice "
With no disrespect it most time seems to centre on the US ? No doubt other countries have had or do have they're own cults ? I'd be interested to hear..
Crazy man !!!

 

[JayeNM]

I think it actually was a court-offered choice. Go into 'rehab' ....Synanon being a legally recognized rehab facility option... ....or go to jail again.....

 

[Wade Cornell]

Certainly not justifying the use of any drug, but if you check the literature one of the easiest ways to get off of Heroin addiction is by using LSD. It tends to lessen or eliminate much of the physical problem associated with "cold turkey". I'm not sure if this is how they used it, but there are clinics in Mexico that are based on this.

The justification for people going in to Synanon and being there forever is based on a type that's generally called "addictive personality". They definitely exist and are found abusing almost anything they can get their hands on. With alcohol there are genetic markers for some groups of people who are particularly affected and easily "hooked". These people are not the same as social drinkers, smokers or drug users who can become addicted but with some effort can quit permanently. Physically dependent and psychological addicts are notorious for failing to "clean up" on a long term basis.

 

[Adrian63]

Thanks Wade ; interesting man..,

 

[JayeNM]

....if you check the literature one of the easiest ways to get off of Heroin addiction is by using LSD. It tends to lessen or eliminate much of the physical problem associated with "cold turkey". I'm not sure if this is how they used it, but there are clinics in Mexico that are based on this.

In the 60's-70's Methamphetamine was also believed/used to get addicts off of heroin. If I recall correctly, Pepper actually legally obtained Meth as a withdrawal drug at some point in his life.

 

[Adrian63]

Hi George ; an avant garde approach certainly . Spaced out on acid and meth its hardly surprising you'd forget about withdrawal symptoms..it's all you could do to keep it together .

 

[just saxes]

Just want to encourage any beginners reading this to transcribe and try to learn to play "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" exactly like Art P does on his recording. I started the process and never finished, still plan to. If I ever get to the end of it, I will have learned enough to get me to advanced level, I think, conceptually if not technically. It blows my mind, how subtle what he was doing then is/was.

It's a terrible tragedy, what the drugs did. And yet you have to wonder what role they played earlier. Many players talk about the role the drugs played in their development, how heroin slows time down. Gary Bartz talks about it here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KL1pbN9Gj0


The beauty of what Art Pepper was doing when he was young is just mindblowing. You play who you are. You play yourself. No drug that opens and blows your mind wide open will treat you well long term. Art's playing when he was young was just beyond the pale. IMO it was not worth the price. He would have gotten to the same place eventually, in terms of "absolute value." To lose yourself, no matter what you gain...not worth it.

 

[just saxes]

Sonny on drugs. This is a bigger topic than most people care to examine. Including druggies of whatever kind.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fnw9ddw6Lk