Tal Farlow earned renown almost as much for his hesitation to perform as for his remarkable talent on guitar. He waited until turning 21 before starting to play the instrument, yet within a year he had turned professional and joined Marjorie Hyams' band in 1948. His association with the Red Norvo Trio, which at first featured Charles Mingus, stretched from 1949 to 1953 and brought him widespread recognition throughout the jazz community. Farlow's unusually large hands, together with his knack for executing swift but delicate phrases, placed him among the leading guitarists of his generation. Following a six-month stint with Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five in 1953, he assembled his own ensemble that briefly included pianist Eddie Costa. By late 1958 Farlow had moved to the East Coast, taken up sign painting, and confined his playing to nearby venues. Between 1960 and 1975 he issued only a single album under his own name, although he surfaced more frequently from 1976 through 1984, cutting a steady series of dates for Concord before withdrawing once more from the scene. The definitive documentary Talmage Farlow chronicles his career, and his own recordings appear on Blue Note (1954), Verve, Prestige (1969), and Concord. Farlow succumbed to cancer on July 25, 1998, at the age of 77.
