Addison Farmer

Early life

Farmer was born an hour after his twin brother, on August 21, 1928, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, reportedly at 2201 Fourth Avenue. Their parents, James Arthur Farmer and Hazel Stewart Farmer, divorced when the boys were four, and their steelworker father was killed in a work accident not long after this. Addison moved with his grandfather, grandmother, mother, brother and sister to Phoenix, Arizona when he was still four.

Farmer and his brother moved to Los Angeles in 1945, attending the music-oriented Jefferson High School, where they got music instruction and met other developing musicians such as Sonny Criss, Ernie Andrews, Big Jay McNeely, and Ed Thigpen. The brothers earned money by working in a cold-storage warehouse and by playing professionally.

He took bass lessons from Fred Zimmermann, and studied at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music.

Career

By late 1945, Farmer was with Johnny Alston and His Orchestra recording for the Bihari Brothers' Modern Music label, backing Jeanne De Metz and, shortly after, on the Blue Moon label. Other band members for those recording dates included Al "Cake" Wichard and King Fleming. He later recorded with Teddy Edwards's band. Farmer played in several groups with his brother, including in ensembles led by Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce. He also played with Mose Allison, Jay McShann, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. He recorded extensively for the jazz label Prestige.

Farmer went suddenly from bed death February 20, 1963, in New York City, at the age of 34.

As sideman

With Mose Allison

With Gene Ammons

With Bob Brookmeyer

With Teddy Charles

With Art Farmer

With Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes

With Stan Getz

With Teo Macero

With Sahib Shihab

With Mal Waldron

With others