Tal
Farlow BY PETE WAGULA
S
ome say Tal Farlow retired in 1958 whh e n h e m o v e d w
from New York City to a quiet resort town on the Jersey coast. Others say he’s never really retired, but simply cut back on his playing to enjoy other things in life. And then there are those European jazz aficionados who
would laug laughh at any a ny mentio me ntionn of the “r” word, because they catch
A
Jazz Legend’s Restless Retirement
Tal
Farlow Tal’s gigs all the time. But the truth is that unless you live in Europe, New York, or New Jersey, the only way you’re likely to hear this jazz guitar legend is on a recording. Farlow has issued at least 35 gems, but seeing those big hands move through beautiful chord voicings and effortlessly blaze through single-note runs is a special treat. If you love jazz guitar, a New Jersey pilgrimage may be in order. Farlow, 74, grew up in Greensboro, North
6 0 G U ITA R P L AY E R M AY 1 9 9 6
Carolina, where he was trained as a sign painter. Reared in a musical family (his father played violin, mandolin, clarinet, and guitar, his mother and sister piano), Tal viewed the guitar as strictly a hobby until he heard Charlie Christian playing with the Benny Goodman Sextet on the radio in 1939. Nowhere else in the popular music of the day was the guitar so prominent, so out front. Farlow bought the Goodman records and began the serious task of learning Christian’s solos note for note. Later Tal discovered jazz pianist Art Tatum and began digesting his music. The two trailblazers became Tal’s biggest influences, and the die was cast. Playing with an unknown band in Richmond, Virginia, a few years later, Farlow was hired on the spot by pianist/singer Dardanelle. After work-
ing in various East Coast cities, Tal found himself in New York for a six-month Copacabana gig in 1944. The bop scene, which had started with jam sessions featuring Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie at Minton’s on 118th Street, was now flourishing on 52nd Street. Tal wasted no time becoming part of it. By 1946 he was working with Marjorie Hyams, who was alternating with Charlie Parker at the Three Deuces. On off nights Tal would go hear the new music being played by Bird, Dizzy, Tatum, and Bud Powell, soaking it up and incorporating it into his own playing. Painting signs for department stores during the day and playing at night with jazz groups such as clarinetist Buddy de Franco’s, Farlow finally hit his stride when he joined Red Norvo’s trio in 1949. Norvo, a renowned vibraphonist with a reputation for playing very fast, turned up the heat on Tal’s playing. Farlow struggled at first but quickly caught on. The trio toured crosscountry to California, ventured to Hawaii for two months, and then returned to L.A. There bassist Red Kelly left the band and was replaced by a San Francisco postman named Charles Mingus. During 1950 and 1951, this remarkable “power trio” drew the notice of players, critics, and sophisticated fans, making jazz history and putting Farlow indelibly on the map. Luckily the interplay between Norvo, Farlow, and Mingus is preserved on record. Check out The Red Norvo Trio [Savoy], particularly the cuts “Move” and “Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart.” During this period Tal experimented with a short-scale neck on his Gibson—or, more accurately, a short-scale fingerboard on a standard neck. This alteration reduced the string tension and allowed greater left-hand stretches. He used this guitar throughout his four-year West Coast stint with Norvo. Tal’s big-handed reach became legendary. In the mid ’50s Tal played with Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five and performed and recorded with his own trio. Several recordings stand out, notably Farlow’s Autumn In New York [Columbia] and The Swinging Guitar Of Tal Farlow [Verve]. Then in 1958, Tal stepped out of the limelight, moving to a small New Jersey town to paint signs, teach, and play an occasional local gig. But Farlow’s so-called retirement has borne much fruit. Besides all those signs, Tal created some superb records. His relationship with Gibson blossomed into the Tal Farlow model guitar, an elegant archtop with a 251/2" scale and a distinctive scroll near the cutaway that was produced from 1962 through ’67. He signed a deal with Concord Records, cutting a half-dozen albums, and in 1981 filmmaker Loreazo DeStefano released the documentary Talmadge Farlow , a documentary on the guitarist. During the ’80s Tal started playing more dates and began touring abroad.
