The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Sessios (MD7-224)

[mgraham333]

The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Sessios (MD7-224)

The set is expected to be released mid-late June.

Pre-Order Now!

7 CDs - $119.00

"A fellow guitar player and I went to hear Tal and this guitar player said to me,"No wonder he can play so good, look at those long skinny fingers !" Well, I thought for a few moments and I said, "No, that's not right... Segovia had fat fingers and Django could only use two on his left hand." I said, "That kind of playing doesn't come from the fingers, that kind of playing comes from the heart and soul."" - Johnny Smith, Guitarist

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“What Ever Happened to Tal Farlow?”

That question was asked often in the late 1950s, when this immensely talented and highly honored guitarist seemed to suddenly disappear. But there was no mystery over his whereabouts if you lived in Sea Bright, New Jersey, and needed a sign painted.

We expect musicians with extraordinary talent to pursue their musical dreams to the exclusion of sanity, family, personal health, and financial stability. But Tal Farlow, who The New York Times called “one of the most accomplished jazz guitarists playing today,” also loved painting signs. And when he decided the life of a musician didn’t suit his temperament, he left it largely behind.

From time to time, Farlow came out of seclusion to perform, right up to shortly before his death in 1998. But he nearly always returned to the spot he enjoyed on the New Jersey coast where he fished, watched the water, and gave guitar lessons. The calm and peace he experienced there was far from the frenzy he caused in the late 1940s and 1950s, when the sound of the man who is universally regarded as one of the greatest bop players ever ignited the ears of musicians and fans alike.

Classics Unearthed

Most of Farlow’s work as a leader was for Verve Records, and all of it is collected for the first time in Mosaic’s “The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Sessions,” covering his work for the label from 1954 to1959, when Farlow was at his peak. Much of it has been out of print for quite some time; very little of it has ever been available on CD; and all of it is worth hearing again for the modernity of his approach, the musicality of his thought process, and the virtuosity of his technique.

Talmadge Farlow grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, a textile center. That industry employed his dad, who worried that his frail kid wouldn’t survive the dust and industrial chemicals. He got the boy an apprenticeship as a sign painter instead. Everyone around him was listening to hillbilly music on the radio, but Tal, painting at night, began pulling in distant radio stations. That’s how he discovered Charlie Christian.

Other Influences

He also came under the spell of Art Tatum’s layered chords and the simplicity of Lester Young, whose solos reminded him of what he had heard Christian doing (proof, in Farlow’s mind, that Christian bore a strong debt to the horn player’s work).

As a child, he played mandolin. Later , when he developed enormous hands and long fingers, he found he could play the two lower strings of the standard guitar with his thumb in ways most guitarists hadn’t explored.

In later years, Farlow also experimented with the basic design of the guitar itself. Gibson built for him a special instrument with a shortened neck that allowed his long fingers to stretch even further. High notes that frequently sound harsh and metallic were softer, mellower, even at the blistering speed with which Farlow could play.

New York Calls

At first the music was a hobby – Saturday night dance hall gigs – but eventually, music won out. The pianist Dardanelle brought him to New York in 1944, which meant exposure to the 52nd Street music scene that was blazing just then. Parker, Gillespie, Webster, Tatum, Powell, Roach. . . Farlow was mesmerized. He lived it. Devoured it. He even managed to master Parker’s solos on guitar. Not easy to do. Real fame came soon in the Red Norvo Trio with Charles Mingus.

When he began making his own recordings for the legendary perfectionist, Norman Granz, his personal style and technique were in full flower. These recordings for Verve are a clear example of why a wide variety of guitarists to this day cite Tal Farlow as a major influence. If it’s solos that interest you, his are disarmingly original and technically brilliant. If you are a fan of the harmonic possibilities of the instrument, Farlow explores it fully. If the shear sound of the guitar is something you enjoy, Farlow makes his sing like no one else.

Farlow. Complete.

And if it’s just great music you’re looking for, you’ll find much to like. The seven CDs in this set include 99 tracks, many of them jazz classics and riffs on popular tunes. “Tenderly,” “Skylark,” “Cherokee,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Stompin’ At The Savoy,” “Jordu,” “Yardbird Suite,” and dozens more get the Tal Farlow treatment, with support from such “sidemen” as bassists Red Mitchell, Oscar Pettiford, Milt Hinton, and Ray Brown; pianists Gerald Wiggins, Claude Williamson, and Eddie Costa; and drummers Joe Morello, Chico Hamilton, and Stan Levey. Trio and quartet dates predominate, but there are quintets, sextets and septet dates as well.

We’ve even included one date from 1951 on Decca featuring the Red Norvo Trio of Norvo, Farlow and Red Mitchell.

The package includes three previously unissued alternate takes, as well as a number of interesting breakdowns and alternates on seven tunes. The lavish booklet contains a complete discography and liner notes by guitarist Howard Alden.

For his innovations, his taste, and his tireless jazz explorations, Tal Farlow will be remembered. Thanks to this Mosaic release, he will also be heard.

[ghost of miles]

Thanks for posting this--very exciting. Wonder what's going on with the Herman, though? It was supposed to be out in mid-May, and they still don't have it up on the site...

[jazzbo]

Herman. . . it's a Columbia label product. . . ALWAYS delayed!

[ghost of miles]

Herman. . . it's a Columbia label product. . . ALWAYS delayed!

Having waited so long for so many Miles sets in the past, how could I have forgotten?

[J.A.W.]

The Farlow set was remastered by Malcolm Addey

[brownie]

This is what's going to be on the Mosaic Tal Farlow box:

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/Discography.a...electionID=1054

[WD45]

If anyone will be buying this set and looking to unload their Japanese reissue of "Tal," just PM me.

[wesbed]

Oh, c'mon, Mosaic! I haven't yet purchased the J.J. Johnson, the Stanley Turrentine, the Gerry Mulligan, or the Capitol Jazz boxes. Nor the Dizzy Reece or Dave Liebman Selects.

Give me a break.

[Edward]

I REALLY want to pre-order this set (something I do not/cannot usually do), but I have recently been thinking about getting the Mercury "Blues, Boogie, and Bop" set (a local store has a good price on one - I already have the 8-CD Mercury set).

I am very pleased to hear that the Tal Farlow set was remastered by Malcolm Addey. I was a little worried that I had been a little hasty in selling my Japanese Verve Tal Farlow CD's a couple of months back.

Did anyone else find it funny that the Tal Farlow set is limited to 10,000 copies? I believe that the NKC Trio and Ellington Reprise sets are the only other Mosaics that, thus far, have been limited to as many copies.

Edited May 4, 2004 by Edward

[.:.impossible]

This is definitely on the wish list. I have never bought a Mosaic. Got the Sam Rivers as a gift. Missed out on Hill, Larry Young recently. I would regret missing another one. Maybe I can talk my Grandaddy into getting it and listening to his copy! He's got a quite a few Mosaics since I showed him a catalog!

[BruceH]

You've got one cool grandad!

[.:.impossible]

Yeah. I really do. My other Grandad, "Grandpa," isn't much into music, but he isn't much into wearing his hearing aids either! He's real cool though. When I say "I love you Grandpa," he says, "Thank you Cary." Its great! He's got this saying. Ask him "What's new Grandpa?" or "How's it goin'?" and he responds, without fail. "Oh I don't know. Same old 6s and 7s."

Can anyone tell me what that means? No one in my family can figure it out! We love it though, and he's been saying it for years. I'm going to ask him next time I see him.

OK, carry on about Tal.

[Alec]

Can anyone tell me what that means? No one in my family can figure it out! We love it though, and he's been saying it for years. I'm going to ask him next time I see him.

Check out this link for the answer to what "at sixes and sevens" means

6s and 7s

[andersf]

Did anyone else find it funny that the Tal Farlow set is limited to 10,000 copies? I believe that the NKC Trio and Ellington Reprise sets are the only other Mosaics that, thus far, have been limited to as many copies.

And one or two others, recently the Roy Eldrigde and possibly the Gerry Mulligan CJB. Both of these have been sold both by Mosaic and, here in Europe, over the counter (distributed by Verve?)

The Farlow set is also Verve, and perhaps it too will be distributed like the other two sets.

Edited May 5, 2004 by andersf

[ghost of miles]

Herman. . . it's a Columbia label product. . . ALWAYS delayed!

Mosaic e-mailed me back this morning:

There was a delay but the Herman is now expected in July.

Good thing that I got that new Hep Herman--should give me my "fix" until mid-summer. My handrubbing thoughts of anticipation now turn to the Farlow...

[Tjazz]

Herman. . . it's a Columbia label product. . . ALWAYS delayed!

Yeah, give me the HERMAN first.

[JohnS]

And one or two others, recently the Roy Eldrigde and possibly the Gerry Mulligan CJB. Both of these have been sold both by Mosaic and, here in Europe, over the counter (distributed by Verve?)

The Farlow set is also Verve, and perhaps it too will be distributed like the other two sets.

Hope so but no mention of this on the Mosaic site.