These recordings should establish Tal Farlow's
standing as one of the best jazz guitarists of all time. Farlow
(1921-1998) wasn't consistently active as a performer throughout much
of his adult life. In fact, his reputation is founded mainly on his
recorded and live work from the Fifties, after which he appeared on the
scene only intermittently until his death.This 7-CD collection spanning 1951-59 is more than enough to solidify his legacy. Farlow's career began slowly. As a teenager he picked up tips from his father, an amateur musician, but otherwise, was self-taught. Originally, he drew inspiration from piano titan Art Tatum, especially Tatum's harmonic conception and use of substitute chords. Then he was fascinated by Charlie Christian playing hornlike lines with an electric guitar for Benny Goodman. He built his own electric guitar and played frequently with local dance bands, influenced by Lester Young and later Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Farlow played gigs in New York as early as 1947 and was with vibist Red Norvo from 1950 to '53. He began recording with Norvo in the early Fifties, and the first tracks on this set are with Red, playing interesting arrangements of "Tenderly," "I Remember You," and "Skylark." The Norvo trio was an early chamber jazz band. Like it, Farlow relied on standards in his repertoire. Farlow sounds fine here; he'd already assimilated his influences and developed a unique style. Perhaps the easiest way to identify Farlow was by his amazing chops. He played rich lines even at very fast tempos, which most guitarists could barely make. Along the way he developed techniques of his own; he was especially good at playing harmonics and used his thumb in a manner similar to Wes Montgomery. (They came upon this technique independent of each other.) Here Farlow mostly plays in trio and quartet settings with bass, piano, and drums accompaniment. He's astounding. No matter how fast the tempos, he improvises lines loaded with fresh ideas. He brings all registers of the guitar into play stimulatingly and functions very well as an accompanist. On a few selections he performs admirably on acoustic guitar.
Disc One
1. Tenderly
2. I Remember You
3. Skylark
4. If There's Someone Lovelier Than You
5. With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair [10" LP Take]
6. My Old Flame
7. Gibson Bay
8. You And The Night And The Music
9. Love Nest
10. Blues In The Closet
11. Everything I've Got
12. With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair
13. Everything I've Got [Alternate Take]
14. I Like To Recognize The Tune
15. Strike Up The Band
16. Autumn In New York
17. And She Remembers Me
18. Little Girl Blue
19. Have You Met Miss Jones?
20. Tal's Blues
21. Cherokee
Disc Two
1. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
2. I Remember You
3. How Deep Is The Ocean?
4. Fascinating Rhythm
5. Manhattan
6. Autumn Leaves
7. It's You Or No One
8. Tenderly
9. There Will Never Be Another You
10. Just One Of Those Things
11. Out Of Nowhere
12. Walkin
13. Moonlight Becomes You
14. On The Alamo
15. Will You Still Be Mine
16. Lorinesque
17. Bye Bye Baby
Disc Three
1. Lullaby Of The Leaves
2. Stompin' At The Savoy
3. This Is Always
4. Tea For Two
5. I Wished On The Moon [Take 7]
6. Swingin' Till The Girls Get Home
7. Jordu
8. The Way You Look Tonight
9. Bernie's Tune [Take 5]
10. I Wished On The Moon [Take 3]
11. Bernie's Tune [Take 2]
Disc Four
1. Taking A Chance On Love
2. Yardbird Suite
3. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
5. Like Someone In Love
6. Meteor
7. I Love You
8. Gone With The Wind
9. Taking A Chance On Love [Alternate Take]
10. Yardbird Suite [Alternate Take]
11. Gone With The Wind [Alternate Take]
12. Taking A Chance On Love [Breakdown]
Disc Five
1. Isn't It Romantic
2. There Is No Greater Love
3. How About You
4. Anything Goes
5. Yesterdays
6. You Don't Know What Love Is
7. Chuckles
8. Broadway
Disc Six
1. Lean On Me
2. Wonder Why
3. Night And Day
4. Stella By Starlight
5. The More I See You
6. All The Things You Are
7. How Long Has This Been Going On?
8. Topsy
9. 'Deed I Do
10. We'll Be Together Again
11. We'll Be Together Again [Alternate Take 1]
12. We'll Be Together Again [Alternate Take 2]
13. . The More I See You [Breakdown And False Starts]
14. 'Deed I Do [Breakdowns]
15. We'll Be Together Again [Breakdowns]
Disc Seven
1. A Foggy Day
2. The Man In My Life
3. Sweet Lorraine
4. Wess Side
5. Telefunky
6. Blue Funk
7. Saratoga
8. Blues In The Night
9. Hit The Road To Dreamland
10. For Every Man There's A Woman
11. As Long As I Live
12. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
13. Petticoat High
14. One Step Two Step
15. Lessons In Love
