Tal Farlow - This Is Cutting Edge Bebop

Tal Farlow was one of the pioneers to further develop Bebop Jazz Guitar after Charlie Christian. He really has his own style and own melodic language which I demonstrate in this video with an analysis of the solo on Gone With The Wind.

This Tal Farlow solo really highlights how he plays across the bar line and has a very advanced use of chromaticism in his playing. In many ways his concept and his solo lines where ahead of his time and he was truly a bebop innovator with a clear own voice.

At the end of the video I also talk a little bit about how his playing likely has influenced Kurt Rosenwinkel.

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[JensLarsen]

Greetings from Denmark! Just arrived with the boys!

Let me know if you have requests for artists! Always good to get ideas! 🙂👍

[bobparsonsartist]

Tal was a long-distance, signpainter, guitar player friend. Spent a lot of time on the phone with him. So kind.

[cborlot]

One of the most underrated guitarist is René Thomas from Belgium who made some awesome recordings with Sonny Rollins Stan Getz Cher Baker etc... his album Guitar Groove is worth checking out! :-) thanks Jens for this vidéo on Tal Farlow!

[philipiacone]

Happy to have you teach a Tal Farlow lesson -- his influence on jazz guitar is undeniable . Thanks, Jens!

[johankjolbro]

im really enjoying this series where you analyse guitarists, thanks for everything you do

[tomcripps]

Great video Jens. Tal Farlow is one of my favorites. I consider him one of the pioneers of fusion as heard in Meteor although some of the George Barnes Octet runs along those lines. My uncle grew up next door to Tal and they used to jam after high school. He said Tal had huge hands and could play so fast while every note was crystal clear. My old guitar teacher Ted Conner used to work for Tal Farlow and Charlie Byrd. His family came first so touring was out of the question. He devoted his time to teaching and wrote several books. He built an archtop that was like a big F mandolin. Great guitar. He later was the teacher of Duanne and Gregg Allman. Ted was able to find what motivated his students and went from there. He brought me to the next level rapidly. Since you asked I'd like to hear your take on Johnny Smith someday.

[dwodo]

Awesome vid Jens. I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing him play with the Red Norvo trio back in the mid-70's. An incredible player.

[Trombonology]

Jens -- a very insightful examination of Tal's style! I've noticed throughout this series (at least in all instances where I'm really familiar with the player's work) that your choices of examples are always highly illustrative of defining points of the artist's style.

[petersmart]

Thanks for this. One of the most underrated Bop players of his time

[jazzerson]

Thanks Jens, good choice, The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow is a terrific album!

[dkwvt]

I've always liked Tal Farlow, his intervals and melodic motion always sounded very modern to me. I never made the connection to Charlie Christian until you mentioned it and it's def right there... Thank you again for your insights, a new threshold!

[hollywoodjoe]

Tal Farlow is now 99 years young up there in Heaven, Joe Nania

[philip.guitarra]

Hi Lars, greetings from Seville. McLaughlin said Farlow was a major influence on him when he was playing Jazz back in the sixties.

[JohnHorneGuitar]

Wonderful video. I need to get more familiar with Tal.

[davidseriff]

I love your videos. I have learned a lot from them. It's always a treat when you come out with a new one. There are a few European guys that you might want to do some videos on. Jesse van ruller, martijn von iterson, romain pilon and Gustav lundgren. All the best.

[joelperez]

have you made any videos about jim hall and his jazz guitar style?

[theempyrean]

On 2:52, where is or what is a bar line. are there 4 beats per bar, i guess I'll have to "google" it.

[Benry]

Hey Jens,

Excellent explanation as always! I'm curious, how do you think your youtube series has influenced your improvising style and habits?

[BL]

Hi Jens… Question: After figuring out the notes in a line (for example, the ‘first example’), how do you decide where on the neck to play it? It seems easier to play the first couple of measures around the 8th to 11th frets. Do you just play wherever it seems comfortable for you, or are you listening for little indicators (maybe a slight hammer-on or slight slide) to determine where he was playing the notes? THANKS AS ALWAYS!

[patpogoallroundguitarist]

I was listening to Stanley Jordan and thinking, what the heck is he doing on his fast shredding lines. I don’t referring to his tapping rather to note choices.