Tal Farlow was an exceptionally talented guitarist. Despite the undeniable influence he had on the development of countless younger guitarists he was virtually unknown to jazz fans outside of the jazz guitar "fraternity". This was due to his virtual retirement from the limelight in the late 1950's in search of a quieter life. He returned to his work as a sign painter. In recent years, however, Tal toured extensively in the UK. Tal died on July 25, 1998 at 6.00am at the Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Centre in Manhattan.
The vast majority of Tal's recordings are impossible to find. Occasionally an early recording is re-released on CD or will appear in the Japanese Import section. Due to popular demand, I have attempted to compile a Tal Farlow discography which may enable you to locate some of Tal's recordings.
The details shown in the discography are incomplete, especially the mid-1950's entries. While in some cases only the dates are missing it is likely that some of Tal's recordings are completely absent. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The biography and discography has been compiled from my own collection of recordings, various biographical liner notes, magazine articles and by cross-referencing against the book by Shane Hill ("Tal Farlow - Jazz Guitarist", Razzamajazz Publications Ltd., Doncaster, UK, 1987). In addition, many people have given help and support in compiling the discography, including Willie Borgschulte, Bruce Borich, Jim Bourne, Barry Feldman, Charles George, Jeff Gower, David Griffith, Larry Grinnell, Bill Hery, George King, Dirk Ludigkeit, Bill Norswether, Esa Onttonen, Bill Patterson and Will Reeve: many thanks to you all! Special thanks go out to that fine guitarist Dan Axelrod for permission to print his eulogy for Tal, spoken at Tal's funeral service on Jul 29, 1998, to Steve Voce for permission to print his Tal Farlow obituary from "The Independent" newspaper and to John Tarabocchia for providing details of Tal's memorial held on Sept 20, 1998.
