Join us for a talk and book signing with Gary Carner, author of Pepper Adams’ Joy Road, and a performance of Adams’ music by Mike Melito, Doug Stone, Jeff Campbell, Bob Sneider and Harold Danko.
Baritone saxophone player Pepper Adams (1930-1986) lived in Rochester from age 4 until he left for Detroit in 1947. He studied music in the Rochester school system and played professionally in the area’s vibrant local music scene.
Adams’ biographer Gary Carner will talk about how the Rochester music scene of the 1930s and 1940s shaped Adams into one of the greatest postwar jazz saxophonists.
We’ll look at Adams’ experience through the lens of Rochester’s rich cultural and socio-economic history, based in part on the author’s interviews with Adams and with Rochester musicians who were active in the 1940s.
The evening will include rare music examples and video of Adams playing in Rochester as a touring professional. Carner’s overview of Adams’ life and work, Pepper Adams’ Joy Road, will be available for purchase.
For more on Carner’s work and Pepper Adams’ life, visit pepperadams.com.