Art Farmer was a jazz trumpeter, born in 1928, who came to the fore in the post-war bebop era, and recorded and performed continuously and prolifically in the USA and Europe through the latter half of the 20th century until shortly before his death in 1999.

His reputation was enhanced by his recording of Farmer’s Market in 1952, shortly after which he embarked on the sessions featured here for the Prestige label during the middle years of the decade, which were along his first as a band leader. Those sessions were mixed and matched across several 10” and 12” LPs over the next few years, and this 42-track collection comprises the complete contents of the Prestige albums Work Of Art, Art Farmer Quintet, Art Farmer Plays, The Art Farmer Septet, Early Art, When Farmer Met Gryce and Evening In Casablanca. His bands on these sessions featured a number of noted musicians of the day, including Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Wynton Kelly, Gigi Gryce, Philly Joe Jones among others. The Los Angeles Times obituary noted that his playing had “a sweetly lyrical tone and a melodic approach to phrasing, neither of which minimized his capacity to produce rhythmically swinging phrases.”

While The Guardian noted how “Farmer avoided the bright, penetrating sound of orthodox trumpet playing and was influenced by the more reserved articulation of Miles Davis and Kenny Dorham… Farmer was in his way a true original.” Comprising mainly original material, but with a sprinkling of standards, this fascinating collection captures Farmer at a key moment of his career as he blossomed into one of the most respected trumpeters of the era.

TRACKS