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The 2012 four-disc anthology Eight Classic Albums features eight of trumpeter/flügelhornist Art Farmer's albums from the 1950s. Included are 1953's Art Farmer Septet; 1955's When Farmer Met Gryce; 1956's Two Trumpets, Farmer's Market, and Bennie Green with Art Farmer; 1958's Modern Art; and 1959's Brass Shout and ambitious Aztec Suite. These albums, released on such labels as Blue Note, Prestige, and United Artists, showcase Farmer in his formative years as he developed into one of the most recognizable soloists of his generation. Here, listeners also get such sidemen as trumpeter Donald Byrd on Two Trumpets, saxophonist Hank Mobley on Farmer's Market, and pianists Gigi Gryce and Horace Silver on When Farmer Met Gryce. There is even an appearance by a pre-Miles Davis group Bill Evans on Modern Art, recorded right before his innovative piano work would help make Davis' Kind of Blue a classic. These stellar '50s albums also feature arranging by such artists as Quincy Jones, Chico O'Farrill, and Benny Golson, among others. While it would be Farmer's later '60s recordings and beyond that would primarily catch the attention of the jazz world, these '50s albums have long been underrated and it is nice to have them all gathered into one collection. ~ Matt Collar
