Art Farmer

Art Farmer is a trumpeter and flugelhornist whose work defined Cool Jazz and Post Bop across five decades. His career shows a clear progression: from early bebop sessions in the late 1940s to co-leading the Jazztet with Benny Golson (1959-1962), which produced essential Modern Jazz recordings, to his adoption of the flugelhorn as his primary instrument in the 1960s—a move that established the instrument’s legitimacy in jazz. His work spans cornerstone labels including Prestige, Contemporary, Atlantic, and [CTI Records](/labels/cti-records/), and his later European period saw extensive collaborations with international musicians. He was a sought-after collaborator for artists from Gigi Gryce to Jim Hall, appearing on hundreds of sessions throughout his career.