1958 · Album
Portrait of Art Farmer
Recorded 1958 · United Artists · Produced by Unknown
Art Farmer's Modern Art Session
A 1958 session where Art Farmer's trumpet leads a poised quintet of modern jazz voices.
Modern Art was recorded in 1958 and released that year on United Artists, and the Wikipedia entry for the album sums up the session plainly enough: it is a trumpet record by Art Farmer, cut at a moment when he was building his reputation as a melodic, unhurried player. The personnel listed for the date are Addison Farmer on double bass, Hank Jones on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Farmer himself on trumpet. The lineup is compact and conversational, which suits a record where the trumpet tends to lead without pushing.
What I find most useful about this album is how it sounds like an audition for what came next. Farmer was about to form the Jazztet with Benny Golson, and the restraint and tasteful inventiveness heard here anticipate that partnership. DownBeat gave the album five stars in its 1958 review, and AllMusic's reviewer described it as a prelude to the Jazztet, which is a fair way to hear it.
If you are new to Farmer, this is a sensible place to start with the period, though it is not the record that defines him. It is a solid, well-played quintet-sized date from a player at a productive stage, and it rewards listeners who like hard bop that stays polite.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Art Farmer
All 32 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
