Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
Kandace Springs Sings Billie Holiday
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
Laurie (left) and Art Pepper
(Photo: Phil Bray/lauriepepper.net)If you’re a fan of legendary saxophonist Art Pepper, perhaps you wonder from time to time about his widow, Laurie.
For anyone who read the no-holds-barred books Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper or the more recent ART: Why I Stuck With a Junkie Jazzman, there would be plenty of reason to be concerned about Laurie, who struggled with drug addiction and spent time in rehab and in prison.
In fact, she met Art in rehab. They collaborated on Straight Life (which was published in 1979 and continues to sell) and remained together until Art died in 1982 at 56.
That same year, DownBeat readers voted Art into the Hall of Fame. “About time,” Laurie quipped in a recent conversation, meaning, of course, that it should have happened long before his death.
Worry not, Pepper fans, about Laurie, who is based in Los Angeles and recently celebrated her 76th birthday with a new Facebook profile photo.
As a youngster, Laurie attended the University of California at Berkeley, then a hotbed of protest, and served a photographer for the firebrand L.A. Free Press in the tumultuous 1960s. Later, as her brief bio puts it, she “went astray and wound up in rehab where she met Art Pepper.”
Laurie went on to manage his career, produce albums, write liner notes, and more.
While her life is less dramatic these days, it’s anything but serene. Her work nowadays is devoted to Art and his music. She puts in hours daily like a factory worker producing and promoting Art’s music.
Ironically, she’s not an avid jazz fan, but she is an Art Pepper fan.
“Ten years ago, I formed Widow’s Taste Records, and I have put out eight previously unreleased albums,” Laurie said. “The ninth one is due in November, and it will be an unreleased, unheard 3-CD set of Art and [tenor saxophonist] Warne Marsh. It was recorded live in 1974 in Donte’s in L.A.”
She raved over the mastering techniques and overall quality of the work of Wayne Peet, her partner in all things Pepper.
Laurie said she feels tremendous joy and gratitude every time she releases an album of Art’s music.
“It’s all for Art,” she said. “I do feel a sense of obligation to put out as many recordings as I can. It was very important for him to record and release as much music as was possible. And I believe he would be really happy with what I’m doing. I also feel a responsibility to the fans.”
Laurie has set up multiple websites to promote her books and Art’s recordings. She routinely posts clips of his music. Though the fan base is not huge, the websites allow people from all the world to enjoy Art’s music. “And I do mean all over the world,” Laurie asserted.
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
“Hamiet was one of the most underrated musicians ever,” says Whitaker of baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett.
Jul 8, 2025 7:30 AM
At 56, Rodney Whitaker, professor of jazz bass and director of jazz studies at Michigan State University, is equally…
