Art Farmer

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 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, fellow trumpeters Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones were also with Hampton at the time), and having relocated to New York, later worked with Gigi Gryce, Horace Silver and Gerry Mulligan among others. From the middle of the decade he featured in recordings by leading arrangers of the day, including George Russell, Jones and Oliver Nelson. He also formed "The Jazztet" with the composer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson; both men had independently come to the decision that the other should be a member of their group. "The Jazztet" did not gain sufficient club engagements to last beyond 1962, but it did assist the careers of pianist McCoy Tyner and trombonist Grachan Moncur III, and the group recorded several albums for Argo and Mercury Records. In the early 1960s Farmer established a trio with guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Steve Swallow. Leter, with drummer Pete La Roca, they recorded the album Sing Me Softly of the Blues (1965) for the Atlantic label.

Farmer then moved to Europe, ultimately based 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.

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)
 * 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)
 * Yesterday's Thoughts (Test of Time Records, 1976)
 * On the Road (Concord Records, 1976)
 * 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)
 * At Birdhouse (Verve, 2002)
 * What Happens? (CAM, 2005)
 * To Duke With Love (Test of Time Records)
 * The Summer Knows (Test of Time Records)
 * At Boomers (Test of Time Records, 2008)

As sideman
With Sonny Clark With Curtis Fuller With Bennie Green With Dizzy Gillespie With Clifford Jordan With Gil Mellé With Heikki Sarmanto'
 * Dial "S" for Sonny (1957)
 * Cool Struttin' (1958)
 * Curtis Fuller Volume 3 (1957)
 * Bennie Green with Art Farmer (1958)
 * Rhythmstick (1990)
 * Cliff Craft (1957)
 * Gil's Guests (1956)
 * Many Moons - July ´69 (Louhi Productions 2009) Live recording July 1969 in Jyväskylä, Finland

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