Details
Track Listing
1. Blame It on My Youth
2. Fairydale Countryside
3. Smile of the Snake, The
4. Third Avenue
5. Summer Serenade
6. Progress Report
7. I'll Be Around
Album Notes
Art Farmer Quintet: Art Farmer (flugelhorn); Clifford Jordan (soprano & tenor saxophones); James Williams (piano); Rufus Reid (bass); Victor Lewis (drums).
Recorded at Counterpoint Recording, New York, New York on February 4 & 8, 1988. Includes liner notes by Stanley Crouch.
BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH features nearly the same band heard on Art Farmer's SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR, his 1987 tribute to Billy Strayhorn. However, the flugelhorn player and his group perform quite differently on this album, which was recorded just one year later. Presumably, this is due, in large part, to the more contemporary repertoire chosen for this session. In fact, for the most part, Farmer's quintet focuses on little-known modern compositions, not standards.
The most experimental of the tracks is the sly "The Smile of the Snake," which purposely falls apart during pianist James Williams's solo. Just when the listener begins to wonder where the song is headed, Williams's cascading piano glissandos return to the main melody. "Progress Report," a Williams original, is another tune that sees the ensemble in roaring, adventurous form, and drummer Victor Lewis's fiery solo brings the song to delightful climax here. Dreamy ballads, including "Summer Serenade" and the title track, round out the otherwise exploratory set.
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