Tal Farlow - A Recital By Tal Farlow (1955) [1988]

Farlow shines on this mid-50s Verve gem, long out of print and not available on CD except at an exceptionally high cost (same with the vinyl usually as well). He is accompanied by a piano-less quintet consisting of Bob Gordon on baritone (who was definitely influenced by Gerry Mulligan), Bill Perkins on tenor sax, Bob Enevoldsen on valve trombone, Monty Budwig on bass and Lawrence Marable on drums. There are only 7 selections so the musicians (especially Mssr. Farlow) get a chance to stretch out.

The tunes have highly arranged heads very reminiscent of the Mulligan-Brookmeyer approach around this same period. The tunes are: "Out of Nowhere", "Walkin' ", "Moonlight Becomes You," On the Alamo," "Will You Still Be Mine?," "Bye Bye Baby," and "Lorinesque". As usual, Tal plays with intelligence, taste, space, swing, and those long, cleans lines that are his trademark, which influenced scores of jazz players over the past 60 years. The cover is a work of art, a stylized rendering of Tal at work. Highly recommended if you can find a copy in any format.


Tracks:

01 - You Came Along
02 - Walkin'
03 - Moonlight Becomes You
04 - On The Alamo
05 - Will You Still Be Mine
06 - Lorinesque
07 - Bye Bye Baby

Personnel:

Bob Enevoldsen - trombone
Bill Perkins - tenor sax
Bob Gordon - baritone sax
Tal Farlow - guitar
Monty Budwig - bass
Lawrence Marable - drums