Trilogy

Tal Farlow’s unorthodox approach to the guitar made him a phenomenon back in the fifties, when he came to public attention as a member of the extraordinary trio that also included Red Norvo and Charlie Mingus. In 1949, when he replaced Mundell Lowe in Norvo’s trio, he began to make waves in the jazz world with his original phrasing, his seemingly impossible chord clusters and his swifter-than-light lines. His harmonic originality – which he attributes to his inability to read music – was enhanced by his ability to reach combinations unavailable to those with smaller hands. A sign painter by trade, Tal Farlow took up the guitar seriously after hearing Charlie Christian on the radio. He was so impressed that he taught himself to play all of Christian's solos by listening to Benny Goodman records. That was in North Carolina in the late 1903's. In the 1940's Tal was in New York beginning to influence and capture the imaginations of jazz guitarists and jazz fans with his unique sound and style. He made a number of recordings with Buddy deFranco, Artie Shaw and Red Norvo before making a series of recordings under his own name in the 1950's. It was this series of recordings that established Tal Farlow as one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. When Farlow died in July 1998, he left behind an unmatched legacy of jazz guitar music. He began his career in the 1940’s as a contemporary of the century’s most recognized and influential jazz guitarists and quickly rose to a preeminent position among them.