GEORGE FARMER
• double bass

Links
http://www.polarity1.com/georgefarmer.html

Electric and double bass man, George Farmer, is a player who brings in an all new blend. Born in Vienna and raised with training in Old World and New School idioms, this focused and versatile bass player is equipped with an incomparable set of musical tools. With a groove so solid people call him the "Rock", Farmer is a formidable talent who "embraces the band with a solid groove that swings hard in any style", according to bass elderman, Rufus Reid. Farmer began his training in music at a young age-playing piano and receiving his earliest musical lessons from his father, jazz trumpeter, Art Farmer. In a house infused with both classical and American popular music, the young Farmer benefitted from a unique and fortuitous blend of musical influences: "...we were the only house on Duerwaringstrasse where Sarah Vaughn could be singing 'Inner-City Blues' in one room, and Dvorak would be playing his Symphony #9 in the other," Farmer says of
his earliest musical influences. But it wasn't always easy being the beneficiary of several generations of musical D.N.A. Conflict between father and son led Farmer to quit the piano, his innate musical gifts laying dormant for years. Later, at the age of 19, Farmer discovered an almost genetic affinity for the bass, and started playing with a vengeance. In order to make the most of his musical time, Farmer began playing and studying the electric and upright bass at the same time. With a grueling curriculum that included conservatory training at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, private study, and a rigorously enforced practice schedule, Farmer absorbed everything from Schubert's Serenades to Bootsy's Rubberband bass grooves during theses formative years of musical training. Not to miss a beat, this tireless devotee lost no time in pursuing professional gigs, eventually replacing some of his teachers on several of Vienna's most sought after dates. "I was controversial because of who I was and what I was doing," says
Farmer,"but I didn't care. I wanted to play bass." Armed with highly developed technique and a wealth of musical knowledge, Farmer moved permanently to the United States in 1997. His self-made determination allowed him to rise quickly from the subway platforms of New York City, and Farmer soon found himself getting calls for more high profile dates. His first gigs reflected his breath of musicality, finding him partnered with Delfayo Marsalis and Mark Whitfield as part of a "Young Lions of Jazz" ensemble at the Iridium in NYC, while also serving as the musical
director for California-based producer, Don Freeman's (The Pointer Sisters, Bill Whithers) live band. Farmer also landed a spot as the bass man in Jazzman emeritus, Benny Golson's, rhythm section in the year 2000, where Farmer toured and recorded on Golson's (Legend Recordings) 2001 release "The Athens Sessions". Farmer made his homecoming trip to Vienna in 2001, where he recorded and played a 21/2 month tour with one of Austria's most beloved rock stars, Wolfgang Ambros. That same year he crossed the Atlantic twice more, touring Spain and playing on the mainstage at the San Sebastian International Jazz Festival in the 5-piece ensemble of Alexis and the Urban Griots. He returns to Europe this winter and looks forward to playing with world renowned vocalist, Natalie Cole, in Linz, Austria this summer. In the summer of 2002, Farmer was honored to accept an endorsement from the world's oldest electric bass string manufacturer, Rotosound Inc., whose strings he uses on his 4 and 5-string basses.