Art Pepper discusses his musical integrity and perseverence.

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Art Pepper discusses the influence of his troubled personal life on his music.

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Art Pepper discusses his early days in music.

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Q: “You grew up with the big bands and your first work was with big bands but in a way, I can’t see you playing in a reed section. You know, getting one solo per set or something. There’s just so much music in you and I can’t see you playing parts…”

A: “Yeah, that was really ... he really suffered. That's another reason why I got into that other thing, you know, the getting loaded. You know, because I was playing with a Kenton's band. It was fun. It was great band and all that, but you know, as you say, you know, I'd get eight bars or twelve bars or four, you know. It just ... boy, it was just, you know, now, wait. I knew all of... you know, I would wait for him to call one of tunes. Some nights, he would forget to call. Maybe I'd have two eight-bar solos the whole night and you know, I said, "Oh, wow. This is horrible. What am I going to do? I've got to get out of this band.” But I didn't have a name enough to, you know; go on my own, so I had to do it. And I learned a lot, you know, listening, but it was really hard, as you say. You know, because I wanted to play and I wanted to play solos and as a chirping man [ph], you're in trouble.”