''Perception'' is an album by
flugelhorn player
Art Farmer's
Quartet, featuring performances recorded in 1961 and originally released on the
Argo label.
[Art Farmer discography](_blank)
accessed June 21, 2012
Background
This was Farmer's second album as leader for Argo, and the first recording on which he played only flugelhorn.
[Blumenthal, Bob (2004) In ''The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson/Jazztet Sessions'' D liner notes Mosaic.] The three other musicians were all part of
the Jazztet
The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...
, a
sextet
A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...
that Farmer co-led.
Music and recording
"Punsu" (formerly "Pon-su") is a 32-bar composition in the form AABCB; "the B sections acting as four-bar tags to the main
melody and the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
".
"The Day After" is a
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
that hints at modal influences.
"Lullaby of the Leaves" has just Farmer and bassist Williams for the first chorus, while the flugelhorn joins the latter half of the choruses by bass and piano.
"Kayin'" features strong playing by Williams and is an acknowledgement of the album's producer, Kay Norton.
Reception
The
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review stated, "This is a gorgeous record, full of light and airiness; it showcases the depth rather than the breadth of Farmer's contribution".
[Jurek, Tho]
Allmusic Review
accessed June 21, 2012
Track listing
''All compositions by Art Farmer except as indicated.''
# "Punsu" – 5:14
# "The Day After" (
Tom McIntosh) – 2:25
# "Lullaby of the Leaves" (
Bernice Petkere,
Joe Young) – 4:18
# "Kayin'" – 3:57
# "Tonk" (
Ray Bryant
Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...
) – 4:37
# "The Blue Room" (
Lorenz Hart,
Richard Rodgers) – 3:58
# "
Change Partners" (
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
) – 5:23
# "Nobody's Heart" (Hart, Rodgers) – 4:05
Personnel
*
Art Farmer –
flugelhorn
*
Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 4 ...
–
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
*
Tommy Williams –
bass
*
Roy McCurdy –
drums
References
{{Authority control
Argo Records albums
Art Farmer albums
1964 albums