Art Farmer

Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Background information
Birth name	Arthur Stewart Farmer
Also known as	Art
Born	August 21, 1928
Origin	Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
Died	October 4, 1999(1999-10-04) (aged 71)
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Trumpeter
Instruments	Trumpet, flugelhorn and flumpet
Associated acts	Benny Golson

Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer (d. 1963), was a bassist.

Biography

The son of a steelworker, Art Farmer worked as a musician from the mid-1940s onwards. Based in Los Angeles, he played in the bands of Benny Carter and Jay McShann among others.

He joined Lionel Hampton's orchestra around 1953, sharing the trumpet chairs within the organization with Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones. Having relocated to New York, he subsequently worked with Gigi Gryce, Horace Silver and Gerry Mulligan among others. From the middle of the 1950s, Farmer featured in recordings by leading arrangers of the day, including George Russell, Jones and Oliver Nelson. Significantly, he formed "The Jazztet" with the composer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, both men having independently come to the conclusion that the other should be a member of their group. "The Jazztet" lasted until 1962, and assisting in the early careers of pianist McCoy Tyner and trombonist Grachan Moncur III, with the group recording several albums for Argo and Mercury Records. In the early 1960s Farmer established a trio with guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Steve Swallow. Later, with drummer Pete La Roca and pianist Steve Kuhn, Farmer and Swallow recorded the album Sing Me Softly of the Blues (1965) for the Atlantic label.

Farmer then moved to Europe, ultimately settling in Vienna, where he performed with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. Farmer also recorded extensively as a leader throughout his later career. With Golson he revived 'The Jazztet' in the 1980s for a number of engagements, with the original trombonist Curtis Fuller returning to the group.

Discography

As leader

• Art Farmer Septet (Prestige Records, 1953)
• When Farmer Met Gryce (Fantasy Records, 1955)
• Two Trumpets (Prestige 1956)
• Farmers Market (Prestige, 1956)
• Modern Art (CM Blue Note, 1958)
• Portrait of Art Farmer (Fantasy Records, 1958)
• Brass Shout (Blue Note, 1959)
• Meet the Jazztet (1960)
• Perception (with Benny Golson, 1961)
• Another Git Together Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet (Mercury Records, 1962)
• Listen To Art Farmer & The Orchestra (Verve Records, 1962)
• Interaction (with Jim Hall) (Atlantic records, 1963)
• To Sweden with Love (Atlantic Records, 1964)
• Sing Me Softly of the Blues (Atlantic Records, 1965)
• A Sleeping Bee (Sonet Records 1974) (Swedish release with Janne Schaffer, Sabu Martinez, Red Mitchell)
• On the Road (Concord Records, 1976)
• Yesterday's Thoughts (East Wind Records, 1976)
• Crawl Space (CTI, 1977)
• Something You Got (CTI, 1977) with Yusef Lateef and David Matthews' Big Band
• Art Farmer Live in Tokyo (CTI, 1977)
• Big Blues (CTI, 1978) with Jim Hall
• Yama (CTI, 1979) with Joe Henderson
• A Work of Art (Concord Records, 1982)
• Warm Valley (Concord Records, 1983)
• Mirage Art Farmer Quintet (Soul Note, 1982)
• Ambrosia (Denon Records, 1983)
• Maiden Voyage (Denon, 1983)
• Real Time (Fantasy Records, 1986)
• Back to the City (Fantasy Records, 1986)
• Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Fantasy Records, 1987)
• Blame It On My Youth (Fantasy Records, 1988)
• Foolish Memories (L&R Records)
• Ph.D. (Fantasy Records, 1989)
• Soul Eyes (Enja Records, 1991)
• The Company I Keep (Arabesque Records, 1994)
• The Meaning of Art (Arabesque Records, 1995)
• Out of the Past (GRP Records, 1996)
• Silk Road (Arabesque Records, 1996)
• The Quartets (Hindsight Records, 1997)
• Live at The Stanford Jazz Workshop (Monarch Records, 1997)
• Art Farmer and the Jazz Giants (Fantasy Records, 1998)
• Artistry (Concord Records, 2001) Reissue of A Work of Art and Warm Valley
• At Birdhouse (Verve, 2002)
• What Happens? (CAM, 2005)
• To Duke With Love (East Wind Records)
• The Summer Knows (East Wind Records)
• At Boomers (Test of Time Records, 2008)

As sideman

With Sonny Clark

• Dial "S" for Sonny (1957)
• Cool Struttin' (1958)

With Curtis Fuller

• Curtis Fuller Volume 3 (1957)

With Bennie Green

• Bennie Green with Art Farmer (1958)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Rhythmstick (1990)

With Milt Jackson

• Bags' Opus (United Artists, 1958)

With Clifford Jordan

• Cliff Craft (Blue Note, 1957)

With Yusef Lateef

• Autophysiopsychic (CTI, 1977)

With Gil Mellé

• Gil's Guests (1956)

With Chico O'Farrill

• Nine Flags (Impulse!, 1966)

With Heikki Sarmanto

• Many Moons - July ´69 (Louhi Productions 2009) Live recording July 1969 in Jyväskylä, Finland

With Mal Waldron

• Mal/3: Sounds (1958)

Filmography

• 2003: Jazz Casual - Gerry Mulligan & Art Farmer
• 2003: Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins
• 2005: Jazz Masters Series - Art Farmer
• 2007: Benny Golson: The Whisper Not Tour

External links

• Art Farmer at Allmusic