Joe Farrell
Joe Farrell | |
---|---|
Joe Farrell performing at Lush Life in New York, 1985 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Joseph Carl Firrantello |
Born | December 16, 1937 |
Origin | Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States |
Died |
January 10, 1986 48) City of Hope National Medical Center, California | (aged
Genres | Jazz, jazz funk, fusion, hard bop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, bandleader |
Instruments | Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, English horn |
Years active | 1962–1986 |
Labels | CTI |
Associated acts |
Elvin Jones Trio Return to Forever Flora Purim Fuse One |
Notable instruments | |
Saxophone, Flute, English Horn |
Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986),[1] known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.
Biography
Farrell was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States.[2]
In the 1960s, Farrell played with Maynard Ferguson and The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. He also recorded with Charles Mingus, Andrew Hill, Jaki Byard, Players Association and Elvin Jones.
In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Farell performed with Chick Corea and Return to Forever. He is the flautist in Corea's most famous work Spain, which is considered to be a modern jazz standard.
He did numerous sessions and contributed a flute solo to Aretha Franklin's 1973 hit "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)". The Santana track "When I Look into Your Eyes" from Welcome also includes solo work from Farrell.
Farrell performs with Brazilian percussionist Airto and Airto's wife Flora Purim on the album Three-Way Mirror. A message on the CD jacket dedicates the 1987 album to Farrell and states it contains his final recordings.
Farrell died of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 1986 at the age of 48.[3]
In 2008, Farrell's daughter Kathleen Firrantello filed a lawsuit against rappers Kanye West, Method Man, Redman and Common, and their record labels for allegedly using portions of Farrell's 1974 musical composition "Upon This Rock" in their songs without approval. Firrantello was seeking punitive damages of at least US$1 million and asked that no further copies of the songs be made, sold or performed.[4][5]
Discography
As leader
- 1970: Joe Farrell Quartet (CTI)
- 1971: Outback (CTI)
- 1972: Moon Germs (CTI)
- 1973: Penny Arcade (CTI)
- 1974: Upon This Rock (CTI)
- 1975: Canned Funk (CTI)
- 1976: Benson & Farrell (CTI) with George Benson
- 1977: La Catedral Y El Toro (Warner Bros)
- 1978: Night Dancing (Warner Bros.)
- 1979: Skate Board Park (Xanadu)
- 1980: Sonic Text (Contemporary)
- 1980: Farrell's Inferno (Contemporary)
- 1982: Darn That Dream (with Art Pepper, Tony Dumas, John Dentz, George Cables)
- 1983: Vim 'n' Vigor (Timeless Records, with Louis Hayes)
- 1985: Clark Woodard And Joe Farrell (BCS), with Clark Woodard
- 1985: Three-Way Mirror (Reference Recordings), with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim
As sideman
With Mose Allison
- Hello There, Universe (Atlantic, 1970)
- Your Mind Is on Vacation (Atlantic, 1976)
With Patti Austin
- End of a Rainbow (CTI, 1976)
With Average White Band
- AWB (1974)
With The Band
- Rock of Ages (1972)
With Ray Barreto
- La Cuna
With the Bee Gees
- Main Course (1975)
With George Benson
- Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI, 1969)
- Good King Bad (CTI, 1975)
With Willie Bobo
- Bobo's Beat (Roulette, 1962)
With Frank Butler
- Wheelin' and Dealin' (Xanadu, 1978)
With Jaki Byard
- Jaki Byard Quartet Live! (1965)
- The Last from Lennie's (1965 - released in 2003)
With Billy Cobham
- Spectrum (1973)
With Chick Corea/Return to Forever
- Tones for Joan's Bones (1966)
- Return to Forever (1972)
- Light as a Feather (1972)
- The Leprechaun (1976)
- Musicmagic (1977)
- The Mad Hatter (1978)
- Friends (1978)
- Live (1978)
- Secret Agent (1978)
With Lou Donaldson
- Sophisticated Lou (1973)
With Maynard Ferguson
- Newport Suite (Roulette, 1960)
- Let's Face the Music and Dance (Roulette, 1960)
- Maynard '61 (Roulette, 1961)
- Double Exposure (Atlantic, 1961)
- Two's Company (Roulette, 1961)
- Primal Scream (Columbia, 1976)
- Conquistador (Columbia, 1977)
With Aretha Franklin
- Let Me in Your Life (Atlantic, 1973)
With Fuse One
- Fuse One (1980)
With Grant Green
- The Main Attraction (Kudu, 1976)
With Urbie Green
- The Fox (CTI, 1976)
With Slide Hampton
- Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton (Atlantic, 1962)
With Andrew Hill
- Dance with Death (1968 - not released until 1980)
- Passing Ships (1969 - not released until 2003)
With Johnny Hodges
- 3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
With Jackie and Roy
- A Wilder Alias (CTI, 1973)
With Elvin Jones
- Puttin' It Together (Blue Note, 1968)
- The Ultimate (Blue Note, 1968)
- Poly-Currents (Blue Note, 1970)
- Genesis (Blue Note, 1971)
- Merry-Go-Round (Blue Note, 1971)
- New Agenda (Vanguard, 1975)
With Lee Konitz
- Chicago 'n All That Jazz (Groove Merchant, 1975)
With John Larkin
- John Larkin (1986)
- Soft Space (1978)
With Arif Mardin
- Journey (Atlantic, 1974)
With Pat Martino
- Strings! (Prestige, 1967)
With Jack McDuff
- The Fourth Dimension (Cadet, 1974)
- Sophisticated Funk (Chess, 1976)
With Blue Mitchell
- Many Shades of Blue (Mainstream, 1974)
With James Moody
- The Blues and Other Colors (Milestone, 1969)
With Airto Moreira
- Free (CTI, 1972)
With Laura Nyro
- Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (Columbia, 1968)
- Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (Columbia, 1970)
With the Santana
- Welcome (Columbia, 1973)
With Lalo Schifrin
- Black Widow (CTI, 1976)
- Towering Toccata (CTI, 1976)
With Don Sebesky
- Giant Box (CTI, 1973)
With Bobby Timmons
- Got to Get It! (Milestone, 1967)
References
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 195. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Biography". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "Biography". NME. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "Rappers sued over samples". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "Four rappers sued by jazzman's daughter". The Gazette. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2009-04-15.