Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell stood out as an American jazz multi-instrumentalist of exceptional skill, serving as both a commanding bandleader and an in-demand sideman. Although proficient across nearly every reed and wind instrument, he focused primarily on saxophones, flute, and oboe. His recording history commenced in 1960, yet he achieved widest recognition as a charter member of Chick Corea’s original Return to Forever in 1970 and through the seven leader sessions he recorded for CTI, among them the 1970 release Joe Farrell Quartet, 1973’s Moon Germs, and 1975’s Canned Funk. He contributed to scores of pop, R&B, and rock projects by artists such as Laura Nyro and James Brown. From 1968 to 1975 he maintained a close association with Elvin Jones, all the while balancing numerous studio dates, tours with additional artists, and direction of his own ensembles. Following his CTI period, Farrell delivered two albums on Warner Bros.: the Latin-jazz project La Catedral y El Toro and the 1978 disco-and-smooth-jazz excursion Night Dancing. He reverted to straight-ahead jazz on 1979’s Skate Board Park for Xanadu. Critics singled out 1981’s Sonic Text for its vigorous post-bop drive. His last recording, the 1985 album Three-Way Mirror, was co-led with former Return to Forever colleagues Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. Farrell passed away in 1986 at age 48. Three generations of jazz players have examined his work, while his CTI and Warner recordings have been repeatedly reissued and widely sampled by DJs as well as hip-hop and electronic producers.

Born Joseph Carl Firrantello in 1937 in Chicago Heights, Illinois, Farrell took up flute as a child, added clarinet at age eleven, and saxophone at thirteen. He performed in school orchestras and bands through elementary and high school. At the University of Illinois he pursued jazz studies seriously, appearing on local bandstands at night and occasionally sharing stages with idols Johnny Griffin and Ira Sullivan.

After receiving his degree in 1959, Farrell relocated to New York City to establish himself as a freelance musician and promptly secured a position with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band. He made his recording debut with Ferguson on 1960’s Newport Suite and remained with the bandleader in the studio and on the road through 1965. During those years he also recorded with Charles Mingus, Slide Hampton, Willie Bobo, Dizzy Reece, Rufus Jones, and the Sal Salvador Big Band. In 1965 Farrell joined Jaki Byard’s quartet for two albums and multiple tours while earning a chair in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band. Amid that affiliation he collaborated with numerous hard-bop and soul-jazz figures; the many sessions from 1966 to 1970 featured leaders such as Harold Vick, Bobby Timmons, Grady Tate, Mongo Santamaria, Jimmy Smith, Herbie Hancock, and especially Elvin Jones, whose groups Farrell joined as a regular member. He also encountered Brazilian jazz innovator Hermeto Paschoal, who introduced him to future associates Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, as well as Andrew Hill (on Dance with Death) and Chick Corea, appearing on the latter’s 1968 album Tones for Joans Bones.

The year 1970 proved decisive, solidifying Farrell’s stature as a premier sideman a decade after his arrival in New York. He recorded with Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Johnny Hodges, Mose Allison, and Laura Nyro. He also signed with Creed Taylor’s nascent CTI label and cut The Joe Farrell Quartet (also known as Song of the Wind), featuring Corea, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland; the album drew strong praise and positioned Farrell as a headliner in New York and Los Angeles clubs.

Although still a regular member of Jones’s quartet, Farrell continued to accumulate session work. In 1971 alone he appeared on albums by the Rascals, the Band, Roberta Flack, and Gap Mangione. He played a central role on Airto’s landmark Free album and recorded his own second CTI leader date, Outback, with Jones, Corea, Airto, and bassist Buster Williams. The next year Farrell joined Airto, Flora Purim, and bassist Stanley Clarke in Corea’s newly formed Return to Forever; the group’s self-titled ECM debut received widespread acclaim, strong sales, and jazz-chart success. Farrell’s flute on Corea’s “Spain” helped cement the piece’s status as a jazz standard.

Nineteen seventy-three ranked among Farrell’s most active and rewarding years. He contributed to dozens of recordings, including Aretha Franklin’s Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) and Hall & Oates’ Abandoned Luncheonette (his saxophone appears on the enduring single “She’s Gone”). Additional dates encompassed Billy Cobham’s fusion landmark Spectrum, Don Sebesky’s Giant Box, Santana’s jazz-fusion album Welcome, and Return to Forever’s commercial breakthrough Light as a Feather, which added guitarist Bill Connors. Farrell also issued his third well-received leader album, Moon Germs, supported by Clarke, Hancock, and DeJohnette. In 1974, while maintaining an intense schedule of sessions and touring, he released two charting CTI albums, Upon This Rock and Penny Arcade. That year his horns and winds graced recordings by Hancock, Blue Mitchell, Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and Jones, among others.

Farrell recorded the charting Canned Funk for CTI in 1975. Continuing his association with Jones, he added sessions for Flack and Franklin, worked with Corea’s live quartet, and performed with Buddy Rich. He also appeared on two landmark albums that year: Mike Longo’s jazz-funk collection 900 Shades of the Blues and Parliament’s influential Mothership Connection, whose horn section further included Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and the Brecker Brothers. In 1976, drawing on his established reputation, Farrell recorded with guitarist Grant Green, cut sessions with Nyro and the Bee Gees, and co-led Benson & Farrell with George Benson for CTI. He resumed studio and road work with Ferguson and released Primal Scream while contributing to albums by Corea (The Leprechaun), McDuff (Sophisticated Funk), and Fania All-Stars (Rhythm Machine).

In 1977 Farrell relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Warner Bros. His debut for the label, La Catedral y El Toro, was produced, arranged, and conducted by William Eaton. The large-ensemble date featured all-star horn and string sections that included the Brecker Brothers, Eric Gale, Ralph MacDonald, Steve Gadd, Ronnie Cuber, Anthony Jackson, and Richard Tee. Cast in Latin time signatures and modal forms with opulent charts, the album stands apart in Farrell’s catalog and has been viewed by some as a contemporary counterpart to Miles Davis and Gil Evans’ Sketches of Spain. That same year he worked with Return to Forever on several live and studio projects, including Musicmagic, as well as with Lalo Schifrin and the CTI All-Stars. In 1978 he reversed direction with the disco-smooth-jazz fusion set Night Dancing. Although jazz critics faulted its overt commercial leanings, the album found favor with DJs worldwide and later received abundant sampling by hip-hop and electronic producers, securing a distinctive place in his discography.

While sustaining his partnership with Ferguson, Farrell remained closely tied to Corea’s circle. In addition to Return to Forever tours, he contributed to the pianist-keyboardist’s 1978 albums The Mad Hatter, Friends, and Secret Agent. He also appeared on Art Garfunkel’s Watermark and Carly Simon’s Boys in the Trees that year. In 1979 he joined the Mingus Dynasty Big Band, recording their debut Chair in the Sky and touring internationally. He simultaneously released Skate Board Park for Xanadu; though modest commercially, the album earned critical praise as a return to form. Additional 1979 sessions included dates with Neil Larsen, Freddie Hubbard, Turrentine, and Jeff Lorber Fusion.

In 1980 Farrell and several CTI veterans formed the rotating studio supergroup Fuse One. Their self-titled debut, produced by Taylor, featured Ronnie Foster, Ndugu Chancler, Clarke, Jeremy Wall, McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Paulinho Da Costa, Lenny White, and Jorge Dalto; the album reached both the jazz Top Ten and the Billboard 200. He also worked with the Harris Simon Group, Sebesky, and McDuff. Under his own name Farrell issued the post-bop Farrell’s Inferno on Jazz Ala Carte and a live fusion set with Paul Horn titled Jazz Gala 1980 Vol. 3.

In 1981 Farrell rejoined Mingus Dynasty for Live at Montreux and recorded on Ray Barretto’s Latin-jazz classic La Cuna. He also released Sonic Text, a post-bop album for Les Koenig’s Contemporary label, leading an all-star group that included Hubbard, Peter Erskine, George Cables, and Tony Dumas. The following year Cables, Dumas, and drummer John Dentz appeared on Farrell’s Someday and introduced him to their regular employer, saxophonist-clarinetist Art Pepper, who enlisted Farrell’s tenor for a reading of the standard “Someday My Prince Will Come” on the album Darn That Dream. In 1983 Farrell led a club quartet with drummer Louis Hayes and appeared on albums by Patti Austin and George Benson. Fuse One issued its charting sophomore release, Silk, that year.

The Joe Farrell-Louis Hayes Quartet delivered their debut album Vim ’n’ Vigor for Timeless in 1984. Farrell also played saxophone on James Brown’s iconic international club hit “King Heroin” and resumed his collaboration with Airto on the percussionist’s album Latino / Aqui Se Puede. Diagnosed with bone cancer in 1985, Farrell nonetheless maintained his schedule. The year brought a reunion with Airto and Flora Purim; they recorded Humble People and, several months later, released Three-Way Mirror on Reference Recordings, co-billed to all three artists. It proved Farrell’s final album. On June 1, 1986, at age 48, he died in Duarte. Jazz listeners honor him as a consummate saxophonist, flutist, and technician, while fans of funk, hip-hop, and EDM regard him as a pioneer who bridged jazz, pop, and the dance floor.