''Silk Road'' is an album by

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, doub ...

which was recorded in 1996 and released on the

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...

label the following year.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Scott Yanow said "Art Farmer has long been one of the most consistent of all brassmen. Playing the flumpet (which is a cross between a trumpet and a flugelhorn), Farmer is heard throughout this 1996 set in top form ... While his sidemen play quite well, the warm-toned and swinging Farmer is consistently the main star, and at age 68 he proves to still be in his prime". In

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

, Jim Ferguson wrote "Richly melodic but bold, Farmer’s influential, distinctive approach is facilitated by his full-toned instrument-the flumpet, a cross between the trumpet and the fluegelhorn. Throughout this eight-tune set, he demonstrates that he is as adept at selecting material and personnel as he is at playing ... Rife with winning performances, ''Silk Road'' reflects the current state of one of jazz’s best".Ferguson, J
JazzTimes review
accessed May 14, 2018

Track listing

# "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 ...

) – 6:38 # "Ancient Evening" (Geoff Keezer) – 8:26 # " Stardust" (

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

) – 5:38 # "Dance of the One" (Don Braden) – 7:34 # "Silk Road" (Keezer) – 5:51 # "Flashback" (Art Farmer) – 6:59 # "

I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938. Other hit versions the same year were by Benny Goo ...

" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills ...

Henry Nemo Henry Nemo (June 8, 1909 – November 26, 1999) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster. Band leading In 1941, Nemo formed his own 19-piece band. The group featured four Chinese women ...

, John Redmond) – 7:50 # "Coming Home" (Kenny Davis) – 6:41

Personnel

–

flumpet The Flumpet is a hybrid brass instrument that shares the construction and timbral qualities of a trumpet and flugelhorn. The Flumpet was invented for Art Farmer by David Monette and is currently in production by Monette. The Flumpet is in the ke ...

Ron Blake Ron Blake (born September 7, 1965) is an American saxophonist, band leader, composer, and music educator. Born in the Virgin Islands, he attended Northwestern University, and now lives in New York City. Blake began studying guitar at age 8 and ...

Don Braden Donald Kirk Braden (born November 20, 1963) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flautist. Career Braden was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 20, 1963, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began playing tenor sax at age 13 and starte ...

– tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone * Geoff Keezer – piano * Kenny Davis – double bass * Carl Allen – drums

References

{{Authority control Arabesque Records albums Art Farmer albums 1997 albums