He was born Park Frederick Adams III in Highland Park, Michigan, on this day in 1930, but the jazz world knew him as Pepper. Considered one of the most accomplished baritone soloists in jazz history, Pepper Adams (1930-1986) played in big bands and small ensembles, working with such luminaries as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Mingus. Here he is playing Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” in 1978 in Stockholm and “Sophisticated Lady” with Lionel Hampton in 1964 in Antibes, France.
