The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

and tenor saxophonist

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted until 1962, and helped to launch the careers of pianist

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

and trombonist

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

. Farmer and Golson revived the group in 1982 and it again toured extensively. Each generation of the group recorded six albums, which were released on a variety of labels. The Jazztet was "famous for nicely structured, precise yet soulful pieces and a swinging style".Wynn, Ro
"The Jazztet: Biography"
AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2013. It benefitted from having a set of strong compositions by Golson, including " I Remember Clifford", " Whisper Not", "

Blues March "Blues March" is a composition by Benny Golson. It was first recorded for Blue Mitchell's Riverside album '' Big 6'' on July 2 and 3, 1958,Yanow, Scot"Blue Mitchell: Big 6" AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2013. and has become a jazz standard.B ...

", "Killer Joe" and "Five Spot After Dark". While Golson also provided many of the arrangements, Farmer took the largest share of the soloing responsibilities.Morgan, Alun. In McCarthy, Albert; Morgan, Alun; Oliver, Paul; and Harrison, Max (1968) ''Jazz on Record: A Critical Guide to the First 50 Years: 1917–1967'', p. 99. Hanover Books.

Origins: 1959

The Jazztet was co-founded by trumpet and flugelhorn player

and saxophonist

in 1959.Blumenthal, Bob (2004) In ''The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson/Jazztet Sessions'' D liner notes Mosaic. They had first played together in 1953, but soon separated – Farmer then recorded under his own name and was a sideman for several leaders, while Golson composed and played for various bands. The two collaborated on Farmer's quintet recording, ''

Modern Art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

'', in 1958, and the 10-piece ''

Brass Shout ''Brass Shout'' is an album by trumpeter Art Farmer, featuring a brass ensemble arranged and conducted by Benny Golson. Recorded in 1959, the album was originally released on the United Artists label.United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. Golson reported that he wanted to form a sextet, because "there were so many quintets around, and I wanted to hear one more voice in the band. When I called Art with the idea, he just started laughing, because he was ready to leave

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

and had been about to call me to be the tenor saxophonist in his new sextet." The pair decided to choose two additional members each; Farmer selected Addison Farmer (bass) and Dave Bailey (drums), and Golson picked

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...

(trombone), and McCoy Tyner (piano). All agreed to join, so these six formed the original sextet.''New York Amsterdam News'' (November 7, 1959) p. 15. The band's manager was Kay Norton, a United Artists executive. Bailey stated that the band name was created by himself and Fuller;Jack, Gordon (2004) ''Fifties Jazz Talk: An Oral Retrospective'', Scarecrow, pp. 19–20. Golson credited Fuller alone, and said that he asked the trombonist if the name could be used, after it had been used on Fuller's '' The Curtis Fuller Jazztet'', which was recorded in August 1959. The name "Jazztet" had, however, been used at least as early as 1949, for a band led by Eddie Woodland in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

–

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

area. The Jazztet's first public performance was on November 10, 1959, at the Village Note in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Their first appearance in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

was at the

Five Spot 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

on November 17. A later New York appearance, at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

on November 28, was well received, with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

' '' critic John S. Wilson writing that, although the soloists were "unusually good", "it is the ensemble feeling of the group that is its strongest point, for Mr. Golson's arrangements constantly offer the soloists a kind of close, intimate support that has all but disappeared from small group jazz". Their New York debut was shared with

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

and other players of a more radical style than their own."Art Farmer: NEA Jazz Master (1999)" (June 29–30, 1995
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program NEA Jazz Master interview
p. 60. Farmer felt that the band suffered from being co-billed with Coleman, who attracted more press attention: "compared to what Ornette was doing, what we were doing ..was more conventional. It just didn't seem to be as adventurous, stepping out into the unknown like what Ornette was doing. Ornette got more notice than we did. I don't think we ever recovered from that."

1960–1962

Following their first appearance in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(at the Orchestra Hall) on February 12, 1960, the Jazztet made its television debut, on ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC,

'', on February 15. Their first record contract, with

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Arg ...

, was announced in March, 1960; by this time,

Lex Humphries Lex Humphries (August 22, 1936 – July 11, 1994) was an American jazz drummer. He worked with two musicians known for mixing world music with jazz: Sun Ra and Yusef Lateef. As a member of Sun Ra's "Arkestra" he appeared in the film '' Space Is ...

had replaced Bailey on drums, with the latter stating that he left because "outside forces" had pressured the two leaders to use the name "the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet". This is the band that recorded the Jazztet's first album, ''

Meet the Jazztet ''Meet the Jazztet'' is an album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Argo label.

'', on February 6, 9 and 10. The album was reported as having good sales, and a single from it, "Killer Joe", with "Mox Nix" on the B side, reportedly sold over 40,000 copies in a few months. By May the same year, Tyner had left to join

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

's band; he was replaced by

Duke Pearson Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record produ ...

. The band played at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

on June 30, 1960 and the first

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

jazz festival two days later. Also in 1960, the Jazztet won

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

Magazine's International Critics Poll New Star award for jazz groups."Al Farmer's Jazztet Session Draws Raves" (July 30, 1960) ''Philadelphia Tribune'', p. 5. By July the same year,

Tom McIntosh Thomas S. "Tom" McIntosh (February 6, 1927 - July 26, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of six siblings. He also had an elder half-sibling by his fath ...

had replaced Fuller on trombone, with the other five members being the same. By the following month, however, the drummer had changed: Albert Heath replacing Humphries."The Jazztet Really Making Strides Now" (August 20, 1960) ''New York Amsterdam News'', p. 14. The personnel continued to change: by early September, Addison Farmer had left, being replaced on bass by Tommy Williams, and pianist

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

had taken over from Pearson. The rapid turnover of personnel was attributable in large part to differences of opinion on financial aspects of the band's existence. Norton reported that the two co-leaders had invested considerably in the band, as the time commitment required meant that their sideman appearances fell considerably, as did the number of compositions Golson created for other leaders. This sextet recorded three albums: '' Big City Sounds'' (September 16, 19 and 20, 1960); '' The Jazztet and John Lewis'' (December 20 and 21, 1960, and January 9, 1961, featuring compositions and arrangements by

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

); and the May 15, 1961 concert recording entitled ''

The Jazztet at Birdhouse ''The Jazztet at Birdhouse'' is a live album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson. It features performances recorded in Chicago in 1961 and was originally released on the Argo Records, Argo label...themimperfect representations of the band's first year", although "they offer a clear enough picture of the unit's character", which combined numerous, unexpected written sections that helped to gel each piece and its improvised parts together. On July 1, 1961, the Jazztet again played the Newport Jazz Festival. By the time of the band's first recording for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, 1962's '' Here and Now'', only Farmer and Golson remained from the Argo days.

Kenny Barron Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadel ...

was briefly the new pianist, but was replaced by

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. 42 ...

; the other new players were

(trombone),

Herbie Lewis Herbie Lewis (February 17, 1941 – May 18, 2007) was an American jazz double bassist. He played or recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Harold Land, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, Tete Mont ...

(bass), and Roy McCurdy (drums). The move to Mercury followed Argo A&R man Jack Tracy, and seemed to Golson "like a step up". The band eventually broke up later in 1962, for a combination of reasons. The leaders felt the project was time-consuming, with frequent rehearsals required to integrate new members unfamiliar with their difficult material. Farmer stated that "we were spending more time rehearsing what we had done than moving ahead. ..Benny felt like he would like to stay in New York, ..and do more writing and get involved with various other things than just working with the Jazztet on the road and writing for the Jazztet". Golson reported that each of the leaders "wanted to go in a different direction, and it was impossible to pursue both in one band", and that the band was getting fewer bookings.

Reunion: 1980s and 1990s

The Jazztet reformed in the 1980s and 1990s. In early 1983, the band contained Farmer, Golson, Fuller,

Mickey Tucker Mickey Tucker (born Michael B. Tucker; April 28, 1941) is an American jazz pianist and organist. Biography Tucker was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1941. He grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania before moving back to North Carolina aged 12. When h ...

(piano),

Ray Drummond Ray Drummond (born November 23, 1946 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He can be heard on hundreds of albums and co- ...

(bass), and Heath.Giddins, Gary (1985) ''Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the 1980s'', p. 135. Oxford University Press. In July, 1995 the Jazztet, with Farmer, Golson, Fuller,

Michael Weiss Michael Weiss may refer to: Sports * Michael Weiss (figure skater) (born 1976), American former figure skater * Michael Weiss (swimmer) (born 1991), American swimmer * Michael Weiss (triathlete) (born 1981), Austrian triathlete and cyclist * Mich ...

(piano),

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in th ...

(bass) and Carl Allen (drums) toured Europe, performing at jazz festivals in Vienna, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, and Belgrade.

Discography

All have Art Farmer (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Benny Golson (tenor saxophone).

References

External links

*"The Jazztet (& More): A History and Annotated Discography
Michael Fitzgerald's discography of the Jazztet.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jazztet American jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1959 Musical groups disestablished in the 1980s 1959 establishments in the United States 1980s disestablishments in the United States