Doug Payne takes us through his voyage a rediscovery of Art Farmer’s[1]Art Farmer | Discography | Discogs “Yama”[2]Art Farmer with Joe Henderson – Yama | Releases | Discogs, one of the last recordings released on CTI.
Forty years ago this month, one of the last of the original CTI releases found its way onto American record-store shelves. But hardly anyone noticed. The shame of it is that Art Farmer and Joe Henderson’s Yama is a terrific record – and one that pointed the way to a new “CTI sound” that could have accorded well in the post-fusion Eighties.
ART FARMER WITH JOE HENDERSON – JAMA, CTI CTI 9000 – Produced – CREED TAYLOR. This 1979 recording shows the influence of associate producer Mike Maineri in its choice of recent fusion and pop material and the often hushed intimacy of the band, a New York session crew adept at both straight pop and the more straightforward jazz playing here.
Billboard Magazine – May 8th, 1982
Success In Japan
As Doug notes, “Yama” was recorded in 1979 and released the same year in Japan. It probably helped contribute to Farmer being recognized in the 20th Swing Journal[3]Swing stops: Japanese jazz mag fails – JJA News (jazzjournalists.org) Reader’s Poll[4]Jazz Forum 1980 – Issue 3. Farmer picked up the award for “Misc. Instrument.”