Customer Reviews

Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very few guitar players move me. Joe Pass I admire but am not moved by. Considering this album was made nearly half a century ago, I was more than surprised by the quality of the playing, its freshness and its ability to move me. Incredible support provided by a rock solid bass player and Eddie Costa is a revelation on piano. An excellent jazz album of guitar music up there with Jim Hall. It was standard procedure by Norman Granz to fill most albums with standard warhorse melodies such as "Gone with the Wind" but there is one original - Meteor - by the leader and master musician Talmadge Holt Farlow who also manages to make the standards fresh. A terrific album, and one of Verve's "By Request" series.

Several reviews have covered in minute detail the excellence of this project. I have to agree, plus I have to express my sincere gratitude to those engineers who are bringing matieral of this caliber back into circulation via remastering and digitalizing. It's wonderful to be to enjoy the sounds of the masters during their heyday, plus listen to alternate takes, and other bonus material from the sessions. Thanks and hats off to a bunch of dedicated "philes" of the process.

Respectfully
gb

Mr. Farlow came along years before Wes Montgomery, and never achieved Wes's level of mass appeal. Listen to this 1956 album, however, and you will be amazed. This expanded CD has 63 swinging minutes of guitar, piano and bass, but the trio sounds like a quintet at least. The old standards are recognizable, the tunes written without lyrics are interesting, and the absence of horns or drums isn't noticed at all. I wanted this when it was an LP but never got my hands on it. I have coveted it on CD the last few years, looking for a bargain price, but finally settled on something close to full retail. It's worth it. Enjoyable all the way through, I could see how a real guitar lover might declare this to be his favorite jazz disc ever. I expect to hear this one a lot over the next year or two, and to be fully satisfied. Read the other reviews posted here for "why" it works, and "how" Tal was so good. As a non-musician, all I can say is "This one is great fun and what 50's jazz was all about."

For those of you who own a few of Tal's later recordings and think you've heard him don't wait another moment before buying this CD. I had always heard that his later recordings, while good, are not his best and do not show the tremendous techncal command he had of the instrument when he was young. While I still can't say that Tal ever made a bad record I will say that this one is quite a shock if all you ever heard were the later realeases. On this recording Tal is absolutely one fire and he swings like a madman through ever peice on here. It's almost inconceivable how easily he plays the most difficult material and at incredible tempos. Do yourself a favor and buy this CD now!!!

Tal Farlow had played the guitar like Coltrane played the saxophone - a complete mastery and intuitive ability that is hard to match. He advanced where Charlie Christian left off and set the stage for such masters as Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery. Eddie Costa is also a delight to listen to - with his strange and highly original stylings (that really compliment Farlow in an interesting way). This one deserves more attention - I treasure it as much as any other jazz album I own - including my favorite - Charles Mingus (who did not care much for Farlow)!

Supple and always swinging, Tal Farlow is in fine form on this reissue. Because Farlow went years between recordings, it is often hard to find Farlow albums. This would be a great companion listen to the "Tal Farlow Returns - 1969" album. Farlow will be greatly missed.

This is a great cd. It's the trio in the 50s with Costa on piano. Tal and Costa together on a cd makes it worth getting. Both really drive the beat hard. I prefer the cd called "Tal" to this one (it's the same group around the same time, just a different session.) but this one is really good. This is Tal in top form. If you are into guitar or jazz, you should get this.

If you like great jazz guitar that swings this is a must CD. The songs are great and the interplay between the players is wonderfull. While piano and guitar in trios very often "step on each other" this is not the case here. Their styles are very different and they bring out the best in each other.

My Dad was a pro jazz musician (clarinet, alto, & tenor). By the time I was 15, I was well on my way to doing the same; that is, until one month we received an Lp called "The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow." I never played reeds again. This was the first time I had ever hear bebop played on a guitar. It was 1957, & three months after I got my first guitar & amp, I was playing a regular gig with a jazz combo. I wore out the original LP.....now I have the CD version. If you play or love jazz guitar, buy this CD! 'nuff said. BTW, I met him a year before he died.

This is an excellent recording for those of you who like the guitar/bass/piano format. When I first heard it, it didn't move me the way it moved others. The difficult thing about listening to so many jazz guitarists who have recorded sessions in different decades is that your ears sometimes remain stagnant or stationary for the moment. Tal no doubt influenced a number of guitar players throughout the years. Tal wasn't the only one with large hands. I certainly feel without a shadow of a doubt that Johnny Smith had the best technique of any plectrum style jazz guitarist. Comparing Tal and Johnny would be a waste since they are both great musicians and guitarist. I will say that Johnny had the cleanest tone of the two and could execute any line at amazing, almost unmatched tempo's. I recommend this regarding and think that it should be compared with other guitarist of the era and beyond. I would recommend listening the Ahmad Jamal's Chamber music cd which is in the same format as Tal's session. Compare and Contrast! This will give you the best picture and insights into how these great musicians explored and executed their craft!