Joe Farrell

Biography

Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. 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 as well as the last.

Early life and education

Farrell was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. As a child, Farrell began playing the flute and clarinet. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1959, he moved to New York City to work as a freelance musician.

Career

He joined the Ralph Marterie Band in 1957 and later 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. After the death of John Coltrane, Elvin Jones formed a pianoless trio with Jimmy Garrison and Farrell, recording two albums for Blue Note in 1968.
In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Farrell performed with Chick Corea and Return to Forever. He is the flutist on the original recording of the Corea-penned jazz standard "Spain."
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 [1973]) includes prominent flute solos from Farrell. During this period, he also contributed tenor saxophone and oboe solos to Hall & Oates' Abandoned Luncheonette (1973). Some of the most famous funk singles of James Brown feature Farrell as a part of the horn section.
In 1976, Farrell recorded a duo album with George Benson called Benson & Farrell on CTI Records.
Farrell recorded Flute Talk with Sam Most in 1979, which was billed as a duet of the world's two greatest jazz flutists.
Farrell performed 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.

Death

Farrell died of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, on January 10, 1986, at the age of 48.

Legacy

In 2008, Farrell's daughter Kathleen Firrantello filed a lawsuit against rappers Kanye West, Method Man, Redman and Common, and their respective record labels, for allegedly using portions of Farrell's 1974 musical composition "Upon This Rock×Upon This Rock1974 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Weathervane8:00A2I Won't Be Back10:05B1Upon This Rock11:54B2Seven Seas6:50" 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.

As leader / co-leader

1967: Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon Volume 4 (Live at the Village Vanguard) with Chick Corea, others (Solid State)
1970: Joe Farrell Quartet with Chick Corea, John McLaughlin (CTI)
1971: Outback (CTI)
1972: Moon Germs (CTI)
1973: Penny Arcade (CTI)
1974: Upon This Rock (CTI)
1975: Canned Funk (CTI)
1976: Benson & Farrell with George Benson (CTI)
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), Recorded live at Pasquale's jazz club, Malibu, California.
1980: Joe Farrell & Paul Horn: Jazz Gala 1980 Vol. 3 (Legends Of Music), Recorded live at Palm Beach Casino, Cannes, France.
1982: Darn That Dream (Quartet/Quintet with Art Pepper, George Cables, Tony Dumas, John Dentz) (Real Time; reissue: Drive Archive)
1983: Vim 'n' Vigor with Louis Hayes (Timeless)
1985: Clark Woodard and Joe Farrell with Clark Woodard (BCS)
1985: Three-Way Mirror with Airto Moreira, Flora Purim (Reference Recordings)

As sideman

With Mose Allison

Hello There, Universe (Atlantic, 1970)
Your Mind Is on Vacation (Atlantic, 1976)
Middle Class White Boy (Elektra/Musician, 1982)
With Patti Austin

End of a Rainbow (CTI, 1976)
In My Life (CTI, 1983)
With Average White Band

AWB (Atlantic, 1974)
With The Band

Rock of Ages (Capitol, 1972)
With Ray Barreto

La Cuna (CTI, 1979 [1981])
With the Bee Gees

Main Course (RSO, 1975)
With George Benson

Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI, 1969)
Good King Bad (CTI, 1975)
Pacific Fire (CTI, 1983)
With Willie Bobo

Bobo's Beat (Roulette, 1962)
With Frank Butler

Wheelin' and Dealin' (Xanadu, 1978)
With Jaki Byard

Jaki Byard Quartet Live! (Prestige, 1965)
The Last from Lennie's (Prestige, 1965 [2003])
With George Cables

Circle (Contemporary, 1979 [1985])
With Billy Cobham

Spectrum (Atlantic, 1973)
With Chick Corea

Tones for Joan's Bones (Vortex, 1966)
The Leprechaun (Polydor, 1976)
The Mad Hatter (Polydor, 1978)
Secret Agent (Polydor, 1978)
Friends (Polydor, 1978)
Tap Step (Warner Bros., 1980)
With Return to Forever

Return to Forever (ECM, 1972)
Light as a Feather (Polydor, 1972)
Musicmagic (Columbia, 1977)
Live (Columbia, 1977)
With Lou Donaldson

Sophisticated Lou (Blue Note, 1973)
With Cornell Dupree

Teasin' (Atlantic, 1974)
With Maynard Ferguson

Newport Suite (Roulette, 1960)
Let's Face the Music and Dance (Roulette, 1960)
Maynard '61 (Roulette, 1961)
Double Exposure with Chris Connor (Atlantic, 1961)
Two's Company with Chris Connor (Roulette, 1961)
Maynard '64 (Roulette, 1959–1962 [1963]) note: 1 track only
Primal Scream (Columbia, 1976)
Conquistador (Columbia, 1977)
With Aretha Franklin

Let Me in Your Life (Atlantic, 1973)
With Fuse One

Fuse One (CTI, 1980)
With Art Garfunkel

Watermark (Columbia, 1977)
With Grant Green

The Main Attraction (Kudu, 1976)
With Urbie Green

The Fox (CTI, 1976)
With Bobby Hackett
Creole Cookin' (Verve, 1967)
With Daryl Hall & John Oates

Abandoned Luncheonette (Atlantic, 1973)
With Slide Hampton

Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton (Atlantic, 1962)
With Andrew Hill

Dance with Death (Blue Note, 1968 [1980])
Passing Ships (Blue Note, 1969 [2003])
With Johnny Hodges

3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
With Freddie Hubbard

The Love Connection (A&M, 1979)
With Jackie and Roy

A Wilder Alias (CTI, 1973)
With Antônio Carlos Jobim

Stone Flower (CTI, 1970)
Tide (A&M, 1970)
Urubu (Warner Bros., 1976)
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 The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

Presenting Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (Solid State, 1966)
Live at the Village Vanguard (Solid State, 1967)
Monday Night (Solid State, 1968)
Central Park North (Solid State, 1969)
Consummation (Solid State, 1970)
With Rufus Jones

Five on Eight (Cameo, 1964)
With Lee Konitz

Chicago 'n All That Jazz (Groove Merchant, 1975)
With John Larkin

John Larkin (Transition, 1986)
With Neil Larsen

High Gear (Horizon/A&M, 1979)
With Jeff Lorber Fusion

Soft Space (Inner City, 1978)
Water Sign (Arista, 1979)
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 Charles Mingus

Pre-Bird (aka Mingus Revisited) (Mercury, 1960)
With Mingus Dynasty

Chair in the Sky (Elektra, 1979)
Live at Montreux (Atlantic, 1980)
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)
Latino - Aqui Se Puede (Sobocode, 1984)
With Laura Nyro

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (Columbia, 1968)
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (Columbia, 1970)
With Flora Purim

Humble People (Concord, 1985)
With The Rascals

Peaceful World (Columbia, 1971)
With Dizzy Reece

Asia Minor (Prestige, 1962)
With Sal Salvador

You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet! (Dauntless, 1963)
With Santana

Welcome (Columbia, 1973)
With Lalo Schifrin

Black Widow (CTI, 1976)
Towering Toccata (CTI, 1976)
With Don Sebesky

Giant Box (CTI, 1973)
With Carly Simon

Boys in the Trees (Elektra, 1978)
With Harris Simon

New York Connection (Overseas Records/Estwind, 1978 [1980-1984])
With Dakota Staton

I Want a Country Man (Groove Merchant, 1973)
With Bobby Timmons

Got to Get It! (Milestone, 1967)
With Stanley Turrentine

A Bluish Bag (Blue Note, 2007) - Recorded in 1967
With Allen Vizzutti

Allen Vizzutti (Headfirst, 1981)
Skyrocket (Summit, 1995)