Tal Farlow - Tal Farlow Plays The Music Of Harold Arlen (1960) [2021]

Arlen's music has always been right for jazzmen. partly because of his own background. In common with some of the pianism and homblowers of legend, he played on riverboats; like many of the other gifted ASCAP men he paid his dues as a night club pianist. His composing career has passed through three phases. First he was mainly a writer for night club revues, producing a long series of hits for the Cotton Club ; second he conquered the Broadway stage with scores for such shows as Earl Carroll's Vanities ; third, of course. came the inevitable graduation to Hollywood, with occasional return trips to Broadway. All three stages are represented in this album, which covers a thirty-year span in Arlen’s career as a drafter of durable melodies. Tal Farlow, who leads the small groups heard in this Arlen collection, has demonstrated in a variegated series of albums for Verve that his artistry and versatility are probably unmatched by any contemporary guitarist. Bom in Greensboro, N.C., he is that comparative rarity in the present generation of jazzmen. a self-taught musician. Though he made his living as a sign-painter for several years before taking up the guitar in 1943, he gradually developed a finesse and technique that soon became the envy of many guitarists with superior academic equipment...
From Nat Hentoff's original sleeve notes

Tracks:

1 Blues in The Night (Arlen, Mercer) 6:47
2 Hit The Road to Dreamland (Arlen, Mercer) 4:54
3 For Every Man There’s a Woman (Arlen, Robin) 4:22
4 As Long as I Live (Arlen, Koehler) 6:31
5 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Arlen, Koehler) 3:05
6 Petticoat High (Arlen, Mercer) 4:40
7 One Step – Two Step (Arlen, Mercer) 3:09
8 Lessons in Love (Arlen, Mercer) 3:11

Personnel:

[# 1, 4 & 5]
Frank Wess - fl, as & ts
Tal Farlow - g
Dick Hyman - p
Wendell Marshall - b
Osie Johnson - dr
[# 2 & 8]
Same sessions, except Joe Benjamin - b, replaces Wendell Marshall
[# 3, 6 & 7]
Benny Powell - tb
Frank Wess - fl, as & ts
Charlie Fowlkes - bs
Tal Farlow - g
Dick Hyman - p
Wendell Marshall - b
Osie Johnson - dr
Recorded in New York ; December 15 & 16, 1959