Not many people in the jazz world have had a career like that of Art Farmer. A Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and bandleader, he played with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. He also enjoyed a brilliant solo career, releasing over 30 albums during his lifetime. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Art Farmer’s life and career in jazz.Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1928, Art Farmer began playing trumpet at the age of 12. He soon began playing in local bands, and by 18 was good enough to join Benny Goodman’s orchestra. After a few years with Goodman, Art Farmer moved to New York to pursue a career as a solo artist. He quickly became one of the city’s most sought-after trumpeters, playing with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk.
Art Farmer’s career
Art Farmer was one of the most influential jazz saxophonists of the 20th century.
He was born in Los Angeles on October 27, 1930 to Helen and Charles Farmer. His father was a judge and he was raised with a strict Christian upbringing. When he was about 12, his parents bought him a trombone for Christmas. He immediately took up the instrument, and soon began taking lessons from Lloyd Reese in the music department of the University of Southern California.
He was born on September 2, 1930 in Kansas City, Missouri. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 12 and soon became a professional musician.
Art Famer’s career began with his first recording, “Swingin’ New Big Band” at the age of 18, in 1948.
In 1951, he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s group, The Bebop Seven. His first album as leader was “Farmer’s Market”.
In 1950, followed by “The New Thing” in 1952. In 1955, he recorded “The New Thang” with Miles Davis’ sextet.
In 1956, Art Farmer released what is considered the first jazz fusion album, “Art Farmer and His Orchestra”. He would continue to pioneer a variety of jazz styles throughout his career.
In 1958, Art Farmer formed a new band that included trumpeter Don Ellis and a young up-and-coming drummer, Jimmy Cobb. The group would later become known as the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Art Farmer concentrated a lot on jazz in the 1960s and 1970s. He still managed to release a few albums during this period, but concentrated mainly on teaching and reading small venues, as well as traveling abroad.
In 1976, he released “The Last Word”, the last album he would release for three years. In 1977, Art Farmer was invited by Benny Goodman to tour Europe, where he gave concerts in the Soviet Union and Bulgaria. In 1979, Art Farmer and Cedar Walton released “The Lonely Ones”. The album was not a commercial success, but was critically acclaimed.
In 1983, he released “Three’s Company”, his first live album recorded in Europe. Although not a commercial success either, it was voted Jazz Record of the Year by Down Beat magazine.
In the late 1980s, Farmar and Walton toured with Herbie Hancock and other artists to promote their album “The New Standard”. The following decade saw Farmer appear on several albums, including his last studio album, “Jazz in America”, released in 1999.
The death of Art Farmer’s son
Art Farmer died at the age of 82. Art Farmer, Jr. died in 1983 after a long and difficult battle with leukemia. When he died aged sixteen, Art dedicated his last album to him, releasing it posthumously. “My Son” was recorded in three weeks and features father and son on trumpet alongside another solo iste and rhythm section. In 1996, Art Farmer appeared on the cover of “Down Beat” magazine with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and guitarist Wes Montgomery as part of a “Jazz Hall of Fame Legends” series. A song written by Sasha Cohen, entitled “Art Farmer’s Blues”, is included on his 2007 solo album “Sweet Girl”. On January 14, 2003, Art Farmer died of multiple myeloma in San Francisco at the age of 72. He had been battling leukemia for over 10 years.
Art Farmer’s influences
Charlie Parker’s playing style influenced Art Farmer’s approach to jazz and its music. In 1952, for example, Art Farmer recorded “April in Paris” with Charlie Parker, based on a transcription of Bird’s performance at Club Deluxe in Los Angeles.
Art Farmer’s most popular albums
Art Farmer’s most popular albums include “The Art of the Jazz Trumpet” (1956), “The Paris Sessions” (1959) and “The Blues Is Everybody’s Business” (1966).
These albums illustrate Art Farmer’s immense talent as a trumpeter and musician. They were among the first jazz albums to be widely available on LP. The Art of the Jazz Trumpet is a recording that was popular in the 1950s and was released on a Blue Note LP entitled “Jazz by Arrangement”.
It is one of Farmer’s most famous albums, having introduced many people to experimental jazz. The album features performances by the Art Farmer-Jim Hall Quintet.
In 1956, Art Farmer released “The Art of the Jazz Trumpet” on Blue Note Records. It was one of their first recordings, leading to many others in their later career. The album contains five tracks and features solo performances by a variety of jazz musicians including Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Red Garland and Max Roach.
Art Farmer’s legacy on the music world
His legacy includes broadcasting the first jazz concert on television in 1939 and recording over 50 albums in a career that spanned nine decades.
Albums such as “The Very Best of Louis Armstrong” and “Louis Armstrong: The King of Swing” are examples of his work.
Art Farmer’s legacy lives on in his music. His albums are still loved by fans the world over, and will continue to be for many years to come.
In 1986, Roberta Flack and Kenny G won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male and Female, for their duet on “Donna Lee”.
In 2003, the album “Mostly Standards, with John Coltrane” was listed as one of the 100 greatest jazz albums of all time by The Guardian.
The jazz musician, who died in 2011 at the age of 84, was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 2012.
Farmer left many compositions that continue to be widely played and recorded by jazz musicians today. These include “Afro Blue”, “Blues For Pablo”, “Christmas In The City”, “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping Away” and his most popular composition, the ballad “Donna Lee”.