Talmage Holt Farlow was born on June 7, 1921, and passed away on July 25, 1998. He was an American jazz guitarist who earned the nickname "Octopus" because his large, fast hands could move quickly across the guitar's fretboard.

Early life and education

Talmage Holt Farlow was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He taught himself how to play guitar when he was 22 years old. He learned chord melodies by playing a mandolin that was tuned like a ukulele. He said that playing the ukulele influenced him to use the higher four strings on the guitar for the melody and chord structure, and the two bottom strings for bass counterpoint, which he played with his thumb. His only professional training was as an apprentice sign painter. He asked for the night shift so he could listen to big band standards on the shop radio. He listened to Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Eddie Lang.

Career

Farlow's career began after he heard Charlie Christian play electric guitar with the Benny Goodman band. He said he built his own electric guitar because he could not afford to buy one.

Farlow used artificial harmonics and tapped his guitar to make percussion sounds. This created a flat, snare drum sound or a hollow rhythm similar to bongos. His large, fast hands led to him being called "The Octopus."

In 1949, Farlow gained public attention while performing in a trio with Red Norvo and Charles Mingus. In 1953, he joined the Gramercy Five, a group led by Artie Shaw. Two years later, he led his own trio with Vinnie Burke and Eddie Costa in New York City. After marrying in 1958, he partially retired and moved to Sea Bright, New Jersey, where he returned to working as a sign painter. He continued to play music at local clubs occasionally. In 1962, the Gibson Guitar Corporation, with Farlow's help, created the "Tal Farlow" model. In 1976, Farlow began recording music again. A documentary about his life was released in 1981.

Later in his career, Farlow performed with the group Great Guitars. A DVD about this group was released in 2005, after his death.

Farlow died from esophageal cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City on July 25, 1998, at the age of 77.

Style and influence

Steve Rochinski explains: "Among the guitarists who appeared in the first generation after Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow, more than any other, developed a style that went beyond the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic techniques used by early electric guitar pioneers. Tal’s fast playing, complex, flowing musical phrases, strong sense of rhythm, advanced understanding of harmony, and wide range of musical expression allowed him to create a unique style that stands out from others." While many guitarists of his time used both rhythmic chords and single-note melodies, Farlow often grouped single notes together, creating harmonically rich tones. Music historian Stuart Nicholson said, "In terms of guitar skill, it was similar to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile."

Discography

• Autumn in New York (Verve, 1954)
• Tal Farlow Quartet (Blue Note, 1954)
• The Tal Farlow Album (Norgran, 1954)
• The Artistry of Tal Farlow (Norgran, 1954)
• The Interpretations of Tal Farlow (Norgran, 1955)
• A Recital by Tal Farlow (Norgran, 1955)
• Tal (Norgran, 1956)
• The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow (Verve, 1957)
• This Is Tal Farlow (Verve, 1958)
• The Guitar Artistry of Tal Farlow (Verve, 1959)
• Tal Farlow Plays the Music of Harold Arlen (Verve, 1960)
• The Return of Tal Farlow (Prestige, 1969)
• Guitar Player (Prestige, 1974)
• Fuerst Set (Xanadu, 1975)
• Trinity (CBS/Sony, 1977)
• A Sign of the Times (Concord Jazz, 1977)
• Second Set (Xanadu, 1977)
• Tal Farlow '78 (Concord Jazz, 1978)
• Chromatic Palette (Concord Jazz, 1981)
• On Stage with Hank Jones, Red Norvo (Concord Jazz, 1981)
• Cookin' on all Burners (Concord Jazz, 1983)
• The Legendary Tal Farlow (Concord Jazz, 1985)
• All Strings Attached with John Abercrombie, Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell (Verve, 1987)
• At Ed Fuerst's (Xanadu, 1988)
• Standards Recital with Philippe Petit (FD Music, 1991)
• Chance Meeting with Lenny Breau (Guitarchives, 1997)
• Complete 1956 Private Recordings (Definitive, 2002)

• Sweet and Lovely (Verve, 1956)
• Cooking the Blues (Verve, 1958)
• The Great Encounter (Progressive, 1977)
• Like Someone in Love (Progressive, 1980)

• Red Norvo Trio Vol. 1 (Discovery, 1951)
• Red Norvo Trio Vol. 2 (Discovery, 1953)
• Move! (Savoy, 1956)
• Red Norvo with Strings (Fantasy, 1956)

• Cephas & Wiggins, Flip, Flop, & Fly (Flying Fish, 1992)
• Cephas & Wiggins, Somebody Told the Truth (Alligator, 2002)
• Sonny Criss, Up, Up and Away (Prestige, 1967)
• Howard McGhee, Howard McGhee Vol. 2 (Blue Note, 1953)
• Gil Melle, New Faces, New Sounds (Blue Note, 1953)
• Gil Melle, Vol. 2 (Blue Note, 1953)
• Metronome All-Stars, Metronome All-Stars 1956 (Clef, 1956)
• Sam Most, Mostly Flute (Xanadu, 1976)
• Anita O'Day, An Evening with Anita O'Day (Norgran, 1955)
• Anita O'Day, Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May (Verve, 1991)
• Oscar Pettiford, Oscar Pettiford Sextet (BMG, 1964)
• Artie Shaw, I Can't Get Started (Verve, 1956)
• George Shearing & Red Norvo, Midnight On Cloud 69 (Savoy, 1956)
• Clark Terry, Clark Terry (Verve, 1997)
• George Wein, George Wein's Newport All-Stars (Atlantic, 1969)
• Mary Lou Williams, The London Sessions Original Vogue Masters (BMG, 1997)