Home » Jazz Articles » Play This! » Art Farmer: Work of Art

Art Farmer: Work of Art

By Jon Block
April 2, 2023
View read count

My favorite (jazz) album is The Art Farmer Septet (1956 Prestige PRLP 7031 of 1953-54 sessions previously released on 10" disks). It features the arrangements and compositions of Art Farmer, Gigi Gryce and Quincy Jones. It still makes me move and groove, from the first clave click on the steaming hot Afro-Cuban "Mau Mau" all the way through to Gryce's equally toe-tapping "Tiajuana," the playing is absolutely stellar. In addition to Art, Quincy and Gigi, the album offers a rich pallet of master musicians at their prime in a variety of septets: Monk Montgomery, Percy Heath, Art Taylor, Horace Silver, Charlie Rouse, Danny Bank, Oscar Estell, Sonny Johnson and Jimmy Cleveland. Later reissues on CD (the original from '53-'54 is mono) include an additional standard, the lovely "When Your Lover Has Gone." This album has held up since I first purchased and listened to it in 1965 on the Prestige/Status LP ST8278 reissue, Work of Art.

FOLLOW Jon Block and get notified whenever Jon has a new article published.
Composer, improvising pianist, occassional reviewer "Ancient Victories Folk and Jazz Review." Live in Sausalito, CA.

About Art Farmer

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Magnus Ostrom: Dancing At The Dutcht...
< Previous

Drifting
Next >

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.