Work of art: The life and music of Art Farmer

Arthur Stewart Farmer (1928–1999), trumpeter and flugelhornist known for his warm, lyrical approach to jazz melodies and improvisations, began his professional life in Los Angeles as a member of the second generation of bebop players. Farmer's work in the 1950s and 1960s with musicians in New York such as Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Horace Silver, and as co-leader of the Jazztet with Benny Golson, solidified his position as one of the most important trumpeters in modern jazz. This study illuminates Farmer's overlooked contribution to jazz by pulling together the work of critics, historians, and interviews with Farmer to give an account of his life. Analyses of solo transcriptions are used to describe Farmer's style.

This study is divided into two parts. Part I details Farmer's biography from his childhood through his adult working life. Special emphasis is placed on the two groups that Farmer led in the 1960s, the Jazztet and the Art Farmer Quartet, as these groups represent the zenith of Farmer's playing in America. In 1968 Farmer moved to Vienna, Austria, where he remained until his death in 1999. This study describes Farmer's life in Austria, as well as his trips to the U.S., which increased in the 1980s and 1990s. Part I includes a description of the many accolades given Farmer in his final years. Part II of this study contains an overview of Farmer's style and an analysis of transcriptions of five of Farmer's many improvised solos. An interview with Benny Golson is included as an appendix.

This study concludes with a discussion of the need for more scholarship relating to great but overlooked musicians such as Farmer. While Farmer recorded an amazing number of sessions throughout his career and was highly respected among his peers, future generations of musicians and fans will not know his or other important musicians' stories if biographers do not broaden the scope of their subjects.