Brass Ensemble Fire and Farmer's Flugelhorn Glow
Golson's arrangements give Farmer room to shine, and the band swings without fuss.
Brass Shout arrived in 1959 on United Artists, a label better known then for film soundtracks than for hard bop, and it did not make much noise at the time. It was never a commercial hit, and it did not sit at the center of the conversation the way the Blue Note sessions of the same period did. What it earned instead was a steady, quiet reputation among people who went looking for it.
AllMusic reviewer Stacia Proefrock wrote that Benny Golson's well-crafted arrangements back Art Farmer's superb solos with flair, which is about as clear a summary as you could ask for. The album is built around a brass ensemble Golson conducts and arranges, with Farmer out front as the lead voice. The writing is warm and busy in the right places, and it gives the soloists a bed to lie on rather than competing with them.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz takes a more restrained view, noting that the arrangements are fairly laid-back and use the ensemble sparingly, leaving plenty of space for the featured horns. That is a fair description and also the source of the record's appeal. If you want a loud, flag-waving big band, this is not it. If you want to hear Farmer's tone on a horn that is not the usual trumpet, and Golson's craft applied to a sound that few jazz records of the era tried, start here. Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller are both in the ensemble, and Elvin Jones keeps the rhythm honest.
It is a record for listeners who already know Farmer and Golson, and for anyone curious about how the brass section could sound when it was given room to breathe.
Who's playing
Percy Heathbass
Art Farmertrumpet
Lee Morgantrumpet
Ernie Royaltrumpet
Jimmy Clevelandtrombone
Curtis Fullertrombone
Elvin Jonesdrums
Wayne Andrebaritone horn
Don Butterfieldtuba
Where next?
More by Art Farmer
All 32 albums →
The musicians on this record
The Cooker 1958
Lee Morgan
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Puttin' It Together 1959
Elvin Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
