Addison Farmer

[bertrand]

Art Farmers' twin brother, bassist Addison died in 1963. He was only 34.

What were the circumstances of his death?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

[Gheorghe]

Car accidence. That´s what I heard.

By the way: Another bass player from the Farmer family is Julius Farmer (el-b), I saw him once on stage in 1979 with Larry Coryell. I think he was announced as a nephew of Art Farmer.

[brownie]

The Leonard Feather/Ira Gitler 'Encyclopedia of Jazz' says Addison died from 'from reaction to the synergy of two medications ...'

[sonnymax]

A couple of sources, including The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, cite cerebral aneurism as the cause of death, possibly a congenital condition.

[AllenLowe]

did Farmer have a daughter? I think I met her once when I was selling encyclopedias. She showed me the barn door.

Edited February 6, 2012 by AllenLowe

[ValerieB]

did Farmer have a daughter? I think I met her once when I was selling encyclopedias. She showed me the barn door.

Art has at least a couple of daughters, one of whom i know. she's a beautiful woman and her mother is Ernestine Anderson.

[GA Russell]

I believe I read years ago that it was a car accident. Funny that there are a few different stories.

[JSngry]

Doug Watkins had the car wreck.

[Tom Storer]

Doug Watkins had the car wreck.

And Scott LaFaro, for that matter.

[Larry Kart]

I believe I read years ago that it was a car accident. Funny that there are a few different stories.

It's not funny, as in "odd" or "mysterious." It just means that people have spotty memories or that misinformation was believed and relayed.

[Peter Friedman]

Doug Watkins had the car wreck.

And Scott LaFaro, for that matter.

Also Clifford Brown and Richie Powell.

[AllenLowe]

it's possible that he had a stroke that LED to a car accident. That's how Bobby Buster died, I was told.

as for car accidents, it's bad news back to Bessie Smith and Chu Berry (I think) (though Bessie died because John Hammond had forgotten to pay her health insurance premium, so they wouldn't admit her into the hospital)

Also Milton Brown. And Curley Russell told me no one was surprised at the Clifford Brown thing, as the wife who was driving (I think it must have been Richie Powell's) was a terrible driver.

There's also Eddie Costa and Willie Dennis, though one or both may have been hit by cars. Same with Percy France, apparently killed by a car while crossing somewhere in NYC.

Edited February 7, 2012 by AllenLowe

[Larry Kart]

it's possible that he had a stroke that LED to a car accident. That's how Bobby Buster died, I was told.

as for car accidents, it's bad news back to Bessie Smith and Chu Berry (I think) (though Bessie died because John Hammond had forgotten to pay her health insurance premium, so they wouldn't admit her into the hospital)

Also Milton Brown. And Curley Russell told me no one was surprised at the Clifford Brown thing, as the wife who was driving (I think it must have been Richie Powell's) was a terrible driver.

There's also Eddie Costa and Willie Dennis, though one or both may have been hit by cars. Same with Percy France, apparently killed by a car while crossing somewhere in NYC.

This is one of the ways that misinformation not only proliferates but also adds to itself. Trying to reconcile the two conflicting stories -- 1) Addison Farmer died of an attempt to treat a fairly longstanding medical problem (he died of the "synergy between two medications," says Feather-Gitler), or 2) he died in a car accident -- Allen "resolves" the conflict by coming up with yet a third "possible" scenario: "he had a stroke that LED to a car accident." Sure, it's possible, but why not just consult a widely available and usually reliable source, as Feather-Gitler (especially Gitler) is almost certain to be in this case? And yes, it was Richie Powell's wife.

Also, Willie Dennis wasn't hit by a car. He was being driven through Central Park by a brief acquaintance who ran the car off the road, and Dennis was killed in the crash.

[AllenLowe]

well, than, parts of the car probably hit him.

Edited February 7, 2012 by AllenLowe

[mikeweil]

as for car accidents, it's bad news back to Bessie Smith and Chu Berry (I think) (though Bessie died because John Hammond had forgotten to pay her health insurance premium, so they wouldn't admit her into the hospital)

Did you read this and listen to the tape available on that webpage?

[paul secor]

I believe that when Addison Farmer's death was reported in Down Beat that the cause of death was given as a reaction to aspirin and another medication. That was 48 years ago and I may be wrong about that.

I couldn't find the Down Beat obituary online. Perhaps Larry or one of the Chicagoans has access to Down Beat's files and can confirm this or not.

[Hardbopjazz]

Doug Watkins had the car wreck.

And Scott LaFaro, for that matter.

Also Clifford Brown and Richie Powell.

Also Bob Berg was killed in a car wreck.

[Dan Gould]

as for car accidents, it's bad news back to Bessie Smith and Chu Berry (I think) (though Bessie died because John Hammond had forgotten to pay her health insurance premium, so they wouldn't admit her into the hospital)

Did you read this and listen to the tape available on that webpage?

Mike, Allen's aside about Bessie and her lapsed medical insurance was a joke, I'm sure.

[epistrophy007]

Bob Gordon and Dave Lambert both died in a car crash...

[AllenLowe]

thanks, Dan, glad somebody caught that - it was for the benefit of Chris Albertson -

[mikeweil]

It sure was ... 

[clifford_thornton]

Doug Watkins had the car wreck.

And Scott LaFaro, for that matter.

Also Clifford Brown and Richie Powell.

Also Bob Berg was killed in a car wreck.

Eddie Costa, too, right?

[AllenLowe]

I think he was helping someone change a tire in Central Park when someone hit him -

but I'm not positive.

actually that might have been Dave Lambert. Not really sure if it was Central Park. Someone got killed there - Willie Dennis?

Edited February 14, 2012 by AllenLowe

[JSngry]

Dave Lambert was on a turnpike, iirc. Or was that Clifford Brown?

[AllenLowe]

Clifford was on the turnpike, I think. But he was in a car.