Ta l Fa rlow

BY PETE WAGULA

ome say Tal Farlow

retired in 1958 S when he moved from New York City to a quiet

resort town on the Jersey coast.

Others say he’s never really re-

tired, but simply cut back on his

playing to enjoy other things in

life. And then there are those Eu-

ropean aficionados who

would laugh at any mention of

the “r” word, because they catch A Jazz Le g e n d’s Restless Retirement Carolina, where he was trained as a sign painter. ing in various East Coast cities, Tal found himself Ta l Reared in a musical family (his father played vi- in New York for a six-month Copacabana gig in olin, mandolin, clarinet, and guitar, his mother 1944. The bop scene, which had started with jam Fa rlow and sister piano), Tal viewed the guitar as strictly sessions featuring , Thelonious a hobby until he heard Charlie Christian playing Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie at Minton’s on 118th with the Sextet on the radio Street, was now flourishing on 52nd Street. Tal Tal’s gigs all the time. in 1939. Nowhere else in the popular music of wasted no time becoming part of it. By 1946 he But the truth is that unless you live in Eu- the day was the guitar so prominent, so out was working with Marjorie Hyams, who was al- rope, New York, or New Jersey, the only way front. Farlow bought the Goodman records and ternating with Charlie Parker at the Three you’re likely to hear this legend is on began the serious task of learning Christian’s so- Deuces. On off nights Tal would go hear the new a recording. Farlow has issued at least 35 gems, los note for note. Later Tal discovered jazz pianist music being played by Bird, Dizzy, Tatum, and but seeing those big hands move through beau- Art Tatum and began digesting his music. The Bud Powell, soaking it up and incorporating it tiful chord voicings and effortlessly blaze two trailblazers became Tal’s biggest influences, into his own playing. through single-note runs is a special treat. If you and the die was cast. Painting signs for department stores during love jazz guitar, a New Jersey pilgrimage may Playing with an unknown band in Richmond, the day and playing at night with jazz groups be in order. Virginia, a few years later, Farlow was hired on such as clarinetist Buddy de Franco’s, Farlow fi- Farlow, 74, grew up in Greensboro, North the spot by pianist/singer Dardanelle. After work- nally hit his stride when he joined ’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 cross- country 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 . 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 —or, more ac- curately, 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 ’s Gramercy Five and performed and recorded with his own trio. Several recordings stand out, notably Farlow’s Autumn In New York [Colum- bia] 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 lo- cal gig. But Farlow’s so-called retirement has borne much fruit. Besides all those signs, Tal created some superb records. His relationship with Gib- son blossomed into the Tal Farlow model guitar, an elegant archtop with a 251/2" scale and a dis- tinctive scroll near the cutaway that was pro- duced from 1962 through ’67. He signed a deal with Concord Records, cutting a half-dozen al- bums, 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 tour- ing abroad.

60 GUITAR PLAYER MAY 1996 FARLOW’S SHIMMERING CHORD VOICINGS

everal facets of Farlow’s playing elevate wherever possible. and 4, try linking them together, omitting the him to a level few guitarists reach. He’ll One of the hallmarks of good chord-melody final measures of Examples 2 and 3. Turn up the S amaze you with super-fast, clean lines, playing is sustaining interesting and convincing tempo and swing. stun you with double-stops and harmonics, movement in all voices, a skill at which Farlow The influence of jazz pianists surfaces in floor you with his phrasing. But his trademark excels. One of Tal’s favorite techniques is to sus- much of Farlow’s chord-melody playing. An ob- may be his shimmering chord voicings. Many tain or repeat a melodic note over an ever-shift- vious example is the way Tal supports and moves of Tal’s ballad recordings—“Autumn In New ing chord sequence, as depicted in Ex. 1. Here voicings—especially high on the neck—by play- York,” “Darn That Dream,” and “My Romance,” the note G repeats while the voicings shift and ing bass notes independently with his right-hand for example—begin with a one- or two-minute the bass ascends chromatically. index finger, allowing him to extend chords far solo intro, just Tal playing one beautiful chord Ex. 2 begins in similar fashion but veers into beyond a guitarist’s normal range. He plays the after another. If you’d like to investigate some a more melodic approach before cadencing in voicing and, while sustaining the notes, palms nice Farlow-style chords, these tunes are a good C. Note how the bass line in Ex. 3 shifts between his pick and reaches behind the chord to tap the place to start. stepwise movement and leaps of a fourth—two bass note with the side of his index finger. Try The following musical examples are based common devices that Farlow mixes unpre- Ex. 5 and Ex. 6 in this fashion. Both make good on some of Tal’s intro and ending ideas. Farlow dictably. Use your thumb to nail that bass note endings for Ex. 1. frequently uses his left-hand thumb to cover in the G13 chord. Ex. 4 shows one cool way to Ex. 7 is a special treat. It’s part of the chord bass notes on the sixth and fifth strings, so ex- follow a chromatically descending bass line by sequence to Tal’s famed solo introduction to the periment with different fingerings until you feel cycling through lush 6/9 and 7#5#9 chords. Rodgers & Hart standard “My Romance.” Once comfortable. Don’t be afraid to use your thumb When you feel comfortable with Examples 2, 3, more the piano player in Tal emerges. His right-

# # Ex. 1 G Cm6 C dim7 C/D E b 9 E7 9 E b maj7 A b maj7 Gmaj7 # ö bö nö ö nöö nö ö ö # w 4 ö ö b ö nö b ö n ö bö ö n ( ) w ======& 4 ö bö n #ö b ö ö ( ) = ö ö #ö ö bö w

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 T 7 8 9 9 10 7 7 5 4 A 5 7 8 10 11 6 8 B 7 6 6 5 7 8 9 10 11 4 3

b bb# C6/9 Ex. 2 G Cm6 C/D E 9 A maj7,13 # D7 5 9 A7 5 bö G7 w ö bö nö öö ö ö ö ##ö nö w 4 ö ö ö b ö ö #ö n ö ö w ======& ö ö ö bö bö nö ö w =

3 11 10 8 8 8 8 6 6 11 12 8 T 7 8 9 10 5 6 11 10 7 A 5 7 10 11 5 5 10 12 7 B 10 7 7 8 10 11 4 5 10 8 # C6/9 B bbbb m9 E 13 9 A 9 5 G13 C6/9 Ex. 3 ö ö ö ö bö nö w 4 ö bö nöö ö nö ö ö w ======& 4 ö b ö bö bö nö ö w = ö bö bö ö w

10 8 8 8 6 3 3 7 10 8 6 5 5 5 5 8 T 7 6 6 5 4 4 7 A 7 6 5 4 3 3 7 B 7 6 7 8 6 4 3 8 ends Of Guitar: Jazz, Vol. 1 [Rhino]. Check it out along with any other Farlow recordings you can Ta l get your hands on. For an inside look at Tal’s playing, see Steve Rochinski’s book The Jazz Style Fa rlow Of Tal Farlow [Hal Leonard]. g

hand index finger holds down a C on the first string from measure 2 through the end, while his right-hand thumb strums through the mov- ing chords and the repeating C. Did you notice the modulation from C to Db? It’s so smooth! You’ll find the tune on both The Return Of Tal Farlow [Prestige] and Guitar Player Presents Leg- ##b ## b # b # Ex. 4 C6/9 B7 5 9 B 6/9 A7 5 9 A 6/9 bD7ö 5 9 B/G C6/9 11 ö ö nö ö ö bö nö bö bö # ö nö w 4 ö #ö ö #ö b ö #ö #ö n #w 4 ö ö ö ö bö ö ö w ======& ö ö bnö ö bö ö w =

10 8 10 8 8 6 8 6 4 11 10 8 8 6 6 4 11 12 7 T 7 8 5 6 3 11 11 7 A 7 7 5 5 3 10 13 7 B 5 3 10 7 8 7 6 5 4 10 8 b Ex. 5 b Ex. 6 A 13 G13 A maj7 Gmaj7 nw w w w b w w # 4 bw w # 4 b w nw ======& 4 b w w ======& 4 bw w = Îúb . Î ú. Î bú. Î ú. R.H.1 R.H.1 R.H.1 R.H.1 8 7 13 12 8 7 11 10 T 8 7 T 11 10 A 10 9 A 10 9 B 11 10 B 11 10 4 3 4 3

Ex. 7 Dm9 D7sus4 Fmaj7 F/G G b 13 Fm7 B b 7 ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö 4 ö ö ö ö bbö ö ö ö bö ö ö ö ======& 4 ö ö ö ö nö ö ö ö b ö ö ö ö = ö b ö ö ö ö ö ö bö ö

12 8 5 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 8 5 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 T 10 7 5 2 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 A 10 7 3 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 B 3 3 1 1 10 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 bbbbbbb# Bö m7 Cm7ö Dö maj7 Dm7ö 5 Eö m9ö Aö 13 Aö 7 5 Dw maj7 bö bö ö ö bö ö ö nö w b ö b ö ö ö b ö ö ö ö bw ======& bö ö bö nö bö ö bö ö b bw =

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 T 1 3 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 A 3 5 6 6 4 4 4 4 6 B 1 3 4 5 6 6 4 4 4 4