Largely overlooked during his formative years, Art Farmer's
consistently inventive playing was more greatly appreciated as he
continued to develop. Along with Clark
Terry, Farmer helped to popularize the flugelhorn among brass
players. His lyricism gave his bop-oriented style its own personality.
Farmer studied piano, violin and tuba before settling on trumpet. He
worked in Los Angeles from 1945 on, performing regularly on Central
Avenue and spending time in the bands of Johnny
Otis, Jay
McShann, Roy
Porter, Benny
Carter and Gerald
Wilson among others; some of the groups also included his twin
brother bassist Addison
Farmer (1928-63). After playing with Wardell
Gray (1951-52) and touring Europe with Lionel
Hampton's big band (1953) Farmer moved to New York and worked with Gigi
Gryce (1954-56), Horace
Silver's Quintet (1956-58) and the
Gerry Mulligan Quartet (1958-9). Farmer, who made many recordings in
the latter half of the 1950s (including with Quincy
Jones and George
Russell and on some jam-session dates for Prestige) co-led the
Jazztet with Benny
Golson (1959-62) and then had a group with Jim
Hall (1962-64). He moved to Vienna in 1968 where he joined the
Austrian Radio Orchestra, worked with the
Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band and toured with his own units.
Since the 1980s Farmer visited the U.S. more often and has remained
greatly in demand up until his death on October 4, 1999. Farmer recorded
many sessions as a leader through the years including for Prestige,
Contemporary, United Artists, Argo, Mercury, Atlantic, Columbia, CTI,
Soul Note, Optimism, Concord, Enja and Sweet Basil.