New York, NY – On Thursday, November 13, friends, colleagues and students will come together at New York’s Zinc Bar (82 West 3rd Street) to celebrate the life of the late jazz guitar great Tal Farlow on the occasion of the release of Tal Farlow – A life in Jazz Guitar, an illustrated biography that includes many never published photos from the guitarist’s private collection, written by Jean-Luc Katchoura and Michele Hyk-Farlow (Tal’s widow).
The event which begins at 6:30 pm for press and media, will feature performances by guitarists Jack Wilkins, Ron Affif, Gene BERTONCINI, Paul Bollenback and Vic Juris beginning at 7:30 pm. For reservations, please call (212) 477-9462 or visit Zinc Bar.
Tal Farlow, ever the reluctant star, was, nevertheless, one of the best guitarists in the history of jazz. Charlie Christian and Art Tatum were his early influences, but later meetings with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell, brought him firmly into the bebop fold. There, he developed his own very personal style. Though a self-taught guitarist, he was nevertheless an exceptional virtuoso, endowed with a great sense of harmony and an unlimited melodic imagination. These talents secured his place as one of the seminal guitarists of the 20th century.
In the mid 50s Tal played with the Artie Shaw Gramercy Five and performed and recorded with his own trio producing several notable recordings among them Autumn in New York (Columbia) and The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow (Verve). Then in 1958, Tal stepped out of the limelight and into semi-retirement, settling across the Hudson to a small New Jersey town painting signs (his true vocation), teaching and playing an occasional gig.
In 1981, Tal was the subject of a documentary by Lorenzo de Stefano entitled Talmadge Farlow. And in 1996 he was feted by his peers among them Herb Ellis, Remo Palmier, Joe Puma and Johnny Smith in a JVC Jazz Festival Tribute presented by George Wein and produced by Charles Carlini. Farlow died in 1998.
