Groove and Hard Bop in Unlikely Accord
Farmer and Lateef meet a big band in one of CTI's most provocative groove-jazz moments.
By 1977, Art Farmer was well into a long career marked by consistency and taste rather than reinvention. This record finds him not chasing trends but accepting an unusual setting: a full big band arranged by pianist David Matthews, plus the veteran reed master Yusef Lateef. The pairing is the album's real draw. Farmer's flugelhorn—warm and restrained—sits comfortably alongside Lateef's tenor saxophone and the bright soprano of David Tofani. They don't battle or showboat. Instead, they float through Matthews's charts, which split the difference between easy funk grooves and genuinely sophisticated hard bop arrangements.
The title track leans hard into laid-back jazz-funk, loose-limbed and unhurried. "Flute Song" swings harder, built on a sturdy hard bop foundation with real teeth in the horns. Jim Madison on drums and Harvie Swartz on bass anchor everything cleanly. The big band never sounds bloated or stiff—Hiram Bullock's electric guitar adds texture without taking over, and the French horn and tuba work sits in the mix without calling attention to itself. AllMusic reviewer noted this as one of CTI's most provocative groove-jazz statements, and that assessment holds. The album isn't Farmer's peak or a departure, but a graceful, well-crafted session where an elder statesman shares a stage with capable company and lets the arrangements do most of the work.
Who's playing
Harvie Swartzdouble bass
David Matthewspiano
Hiram Bullockelectric guitar
Kenny Bergerbaritone saxophone
Yusef Lateeftenor saxophone
David Tofanisoprano saxophone
Frank Vicaritenor saxophone
Burt Collinstrumpet
Sam Burtistrombone
Jim Madisondrums
Sue Evanspercussion
Art Farmerflugelhorn
Fred GriffinFrench horn
Tony Pricetuba
Joe Shepleyflugelhorn
Where next?
More by Art Farmer
All 32 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
