| Art | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1961 | |||
| Recorded | September 21, 22 & 23, 1960 Nola Penthouse Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 39:02 | |||
| Label | Argo LP-678 | |||
| Producer | Kay Norton | |||
| Art Farmer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Art is an album by trumpeter Art Farmer, featuring performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Argo label.[1]: 18 Farmer stated in 1995 that the album, which consists mainly of ballads, was his favorite.
Farmer was co-founder and co-leader of the Jazztet, which had recorded two albums for Argo, including Big City Sounds on September 16, 19, and 20, 1960.[1]: 6, 18 Two of the members of that sextet – bassist Tommy Williams, and drummer Albert Heath – were retained by Farmer for his recording as leader, and pianist Tommy Flanagan was added, completing the quartet.[1]: 6
The album was recorded immediately after the Big City Sounds sessions – on September 21–23, 1960.[1]: 6 The band did not rehearse the music before recording it.[2]
The music chosen had an "emphasis on less frequently played ballads."[1]: 6 "So Beats My Heart for You" features two solos by Williams.[1]: 6–7 "Goodbye, Old Girl", from the musical Damn Yankees, is played with a "mood of rueful farewell".[1]: 7 The Gershwins' "Who Cares?" and Irving Berlin's "The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)" are up-tempo numbers.[1]: 7 Benny Golson's "Out of the Past" was intended to sound like a standard, and was first recorded in 1957.[1]: 7 The playing on "Younger Than Springtime" is "impressionistic" and "reflective".[1]: 7 "I'm a Fool to Want You" was described by Nat Hentoff in the original liner notes as "the essence of jazz lyricism – intimacy without self-pity".[1]: 7 "That Ole Devil Called Love" has solos from Farmer and Williams.[1]: 7
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
The Allmusic review stated "This series of studio sessions from 1960 [...] find the trumpeter in great form".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz described the album as "close to perfect, [...] measured, unflashy but deeply felt".[4]
Speaking in 1995, Farmer stated that Art was his favorite album: "Sometimes things gel, and sometimes things that should gel don't, and nobody can really anticipate it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. In this case, it worked."[2]
