Tal Farlow Quartet – April 11 1954
Tal Farlow Blue Note Biography
Nearly as famous for his reluctance to play as for his outstanding abilities, guitarist Tal Farlow did not take up the instrument until he was already 21, but within a year was playing professionally and in 1948 was with Marjorie Hyams’ band. While with the Red Norvo Trio (which originally included Charles Mingus) from 1949-1953, Farlow became famous in the jazz world. His huge hands and ability to play rapid yet light lines made him one of the top guitarists of the era. After six months with Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five in 1953, Farlow put together his own group, which for a time included pianist Eddie Costa. Late in 1958, Farlow settled on the East Coast, became a sign painter, and just played locally. He only made one record as a leader during 1960-1975, but emerged a bit more often during 1976-1984, recording for Concord fairly regularly before largely disappearing again. Profiled in the definitive documentary Talmage Farlow, the guitarist can be heard on his own records for Blue Note (1954), Verve, Prestige (1969), and Concord. He died of cancer July 25, 1998, at age 77.
Leonard Feather: Tal Farlow Quartet Liner Notes – BLP 5042 – 1954
IT WAS a natural expectation that Talmadge Farlow would some day record his own LP session, and that he would do so for Blue Note, the label that has remained preeminent for so many years as a virtual academy of new jazz talent.
Tal's advent on the musical front stems from an unusual background. From the day he was born in Greensboro, N.C. (June 7, 1921) until the time, some 22 years later, when he first started gigging with a guitar he had found lying around the house, he never studied music, nor planned a musical career. By 1943 he had worked for several years in the slightly less glamorous trade of sign-painting. The switch from paintbrush to plectrum took place gradually, with a lengthy overlap; in fact, as recently as 1948, when he was in New York awaiting his Local 802 card, Tal put in several months painting for a living.
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| Photo by Francis Wolff |
It was the work of Charlie Christian that spurred Tal's first enthusiasm for the career he ultimately adopted. His first real break came when, working in Richmond, Va., he was heard by Dardanelle, the pianist, who hired him for her trio. He was with her on and off for a couple of years. Many New Yorkers recall his impressive performance during the trio's stint at the Copacabana lounge.
Later Tal worked around Philadelphia, forming a trio with pianist Jimmy Lyon and bassist Lenny De Franco (Buddy's brother) . After settling in New York and getting his card, he worked with a trio led by vibraharpist Margie Hyams (who later joined the Shearing Quintet), then with Teddy Napoleon, Buddy De Franco and Marshall Grant. The last-named being a society pianist with whom Tal served a six-month stretch at the Little Club, his career as a jazzman seemed to be pretty much in jeopardy until late in 1949, when fate stepped in. Fate took the guise of a guy named Red Norvo, and with a firm berth in the Norvo trio Tal was soon on his way to recognition.
He remained with Red for three years, traveling from New York to Honolulu and simultaneously traveling rapidly toward the top in popularity polls. An interim of several months' free lancing around New York followed his departure from the trio. Artie Shaw hired him for his Gramercy 5 from Sept. 1953 until Feb. '54; a short while later Tal was back again with Red.
During these years with Norvo there was ample recorded evidence of the extraordinary inspirational and technical qualities of this self-schooled plectrist. He was featured on both the Gil Mellé Blue Note LPs 5020 and 5033 and Howard McGhee's LP 5024, as well as with Red.
Farlow The Leader, as he may now be called, assumes a slightly different personality. To back his solo work he decided to use a second guitar. He found the perfect man for this job in Don Arnone, a good musician and fine reader whose previous career had restricted him largely to broadcasts with the Stork Club show and other such commercial assignments. This was Don's first jazz date; his taste and discretion in backing and complementing Tal's work are exemplary throughout. Completing the group are bassist Clyde Lombardi, another Norvo alumnus also heard with Benny Goodman and many other name bands; and Joe Morello, the new drumming sensation from Marian McPartland's trio. Already featured on Blue Note in the two Mellé LPs, Lombardi and Morello combine with Arnone to provide Tal with a moving rhythmic backing.
Of the six tunes, Lover shows Tal's chord conception to the best advantage. Flamingo opens with an example of his "harmonics" style a term used by guitarists to denote the system in which the effective length of the strings is cut in half by placing the forefinger of the right hand on them while the pick is held between the thumb and middle finger. The tonal effect, comparable with that of a mute, lends an interesting dash of additional color to the performance.
Tal uses the second guitar mainly for rhythm, but on Rock 'N' Rye, a blues, the two work intriguingly together in unison, in octave unison and in parallel fourths. The octave unison on All Through the Night is played by Tal himself, while on Tina there is a certain amount of interplay between the two guitars.
These performances were not designed, however, to weave any magic multiple-guitar spells. Their objective, and one in which they succeed on an unpretentious jazz level, is the comprehensive presentation of the nimble and inimitable art of Tal Farlow, one of the truly great new personalities on the jazz scene.
Cover by BILL HUGHES and FRANCIS WOLFF
Technical Data: The Wide Range recording characteristic includes frequencies from 20 to 18,000 cycles. Multiple microphone technique was employed, utilizing Telefunken microphones and Ampex Series 300 tape recorders. Mastering equipment included Fairchild variable pitch lathe, Grampian cutter and Thermo-Stylus.
Down Beat 20 October 1954 Volume 21 Issue 21
Musically this is on a par with Tal’s impressive Norgran LP (Down Beat, Sept. 22), but between the two, this is a better buy because the technical recording is so superior. As a matter of fact, this is one of the most striking examples of the year of the difference between the work of a brilliant sound engineer who also knows jazz (Rudy Van Gelder for Blue Note) and just another control man (whoever was responsible for the far less full, far less “present” sound of the Norgran set). As on the other LP, Tal again used a second guitar for both rhythm and chordal support, and also for particular devices such as the unison and parallel fourths collaboration in Rock ‘n’ Rye. Don Arnone is the second guitar here and Clyde Lombardi is on bass. Tal used one carryover from the other session, the superb Joe Morello on drums, but this time Joe’s crisply tasteful sound is much better recorded and balanced. Tal again plays with the fluent imagination and subtly sure rhythmic ease that have made him one of the major modern guitarists. The basic lines of his three originals aren’t gassers in themselves, but Tal builds interestingly on them. The cover is a swirlingly moving one. (Blue Note BLP 5042)
Notes etc.
One of two Blue Note 10” covers (officially) designed by Bill Hughes. The other being Julius Watkins Sextet – BLP 5053 later in 1954. Nick Rossi Provides more background on Hughes (and other Blue Note designers) in his blog here.
Tal Farlow, Clyde Lombardi and Joe Morello also played on Gil Melle’s two 1953 sessions (January 31 and October 25)
Session Information
Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, April 11, 1954
Don Arnone, Tal Farlow, guitar; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Joe Morello, drums.
BN554-3 tk.4 Tina
BN555-1 tk.6 Splash
BN556-1 tk.8 Rock 'N' Rye
BN557-2 tk.12 Lover
BN558-2 tk.15 All Through The Night
BN559-1 tk.17 Flamingo
All selections released on Blue Note LP 5042
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