JOE FARRELL - Penny Arcade/Upon This Rock/Canned Funk
BGO Records BGOCD1343
Penny Arcade:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, piccolo); Herbie Hancock (piano, electric piano); Joe Beck (guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Steve Gadd (drums); Don Alias (percussion).
Recorded Van Gelder Studio October 1973
Upon This Rock:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute); Joe Beck (guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Jim Madison/Steve Gadd (drums); Herbie Hancock (piano); Don Alias (percussion).
Recorded Van Gelder Studio March 1974
Canned Funk:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, baritone sax, flute); Joe Beck 9guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Jim Madison (drums); Ray Mantilla (percussion)
Recorded Van Gelder Studio November-December 1974
History is very fickle when it comes to remembering talent, and the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Joe Farrell is sadly one of those who have fallen through the cracks of jazz history. Farrell was a phenomenal musician, a master on all forms of saxophone (alto, tenor, soprano and baritone), as well as a superb flautist and piccolo player. The proof of the pudding is in the musicians he worked with including, Elvin Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Art Blakey (he replaced Wayne Shorter in the Jazz Messengers), Charles Mingus, George Benson, Billy Cobham (Farrell played on the ground-breaking album Spectrum) and James Brown. Farrell was also a member of the first incarnation of Chic Corea’s Return to Forever, a band that also included Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Stanley Clarke.
The saxophonist also forged a strong musical relationship with producer/label founder Creed Taylor, recording a string of albums on the CTI label. Farrell’s debut CTI album – released in 1970 – had a line-up that included Chic Corea, John McLaughlin, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. So why is Farrell not more renowned? Sadly, he died in 1986, aged just 48 from a form of blood cancer that would also kill another superb saxophonist, Michael Brecker. There’s little information about Farrell online, and when I last searched, I couldn’t find any interviews with him. Some of his music has been sampled (somewhat controversially, because his Estate received no royalties) by hip-hop artists, but other than that, he remains largely forgotten by the wider jazz community.
With that in mind, it’s great to see BGO releasing this trio of albums, which represent Farrell’s fourth, fifth and sixth CTI albums - Farrell would go on to release one final CTI album, a musical collaboration with George Benson. CTI had a reputation for unusual and/or imaginative album covers and these three album covers are certainly that. Penny Arcade shows the profile of a motorcyclist racing at top speed; Upon This Rock has a large footprint in the sand, while Canned Funk seems to have been inspired by Salvador Dali, comprising of an open tin of peaches, one of which has a large human eye staring up at you.
All these albums have a strong cast of musicians including guitarist Joe Beck, one of the most in-demand session musicians around at the time, and a with cv that included Gil Evans, Miles Davis and Quincy. Bassist Herb Bushler had played with Gil Evans, Tony Williams, David Sanborn and Joe Chambers. Steve Gadd was then an up-and-coming drummer on the music scene, and percussionist Don Alias had played with Miles Davis (he plays drums and percussion on the album Bitches Brew). Herbie Hancock needs no introduction. Farrell composed nine of the thirteen tracks spread across the three albums; Beck wrote three and one tune is a cover version.
The opening title track of Penny Arcade was composed by Beck and is raunchy jazz-funk number, with Farrell playing gutsy tenor sax over a funk beat, and Beck letting rip on wah-wah guitar. The piece was recorded and released long before the Average White Band released their sax-driven hit ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ in late 1974. The success of this song (it was a US number one) prompted CTI to release ‘Penny Arcade’ as a single – it failed to chart. The album’s centrepiece is a 13-minute of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Too High,’ an anti-drug song that opened the 1973 smash hit album Innervisions. It’s one of Wonder’s most jazzy compositions (on the original, Wonder, who played all the instruments, plays like a bebop drummer).
Farrell’s version sticks closely to Wonder’s arrangement and the number has the same tempo and feel, but whereas Wonder used a Moog bass to produce a burbling bass line, Bushler uses a wah-wah pedal with his bass to create a similar effect (Beck also plays lashings of wah-wah guitar). Farrell plays soprano sax, with his instrument replacing both background and lead vocals. It’s a tour de force performance by the band – Farrell plays long stretches of graceful, melodic sax lines; Hancock stretches out with a funky electric piano solo that could have come from a Headhunters album, while Bushler plays a short, but forceful solo and Gadd lays down a strong groove.
The last three tracks are ‘Hurricane Jane,’ a jazz-funk workout that includes a mysterious-sounding section with rippling keyboards and strange sounds. Farrell plays a blistering tenor solo, complete with squeaks and squawks. ‘Cloud Cream’ has a heavy Latin groove with Don Alias providing lots of clattering percussion, and Farrell’s piccolo flute singing like a bird. Hancock produces an excellent acoustic piano solo. The closing number, ‘Geo Blue’ has Farrell blowing tenor sax on a bluesy ballad. This is a very good album, and in addition to appreciating the depth, sensitivity, versatility and power of Farrell’s playing, I really loved the various tones, colours and textures provided by Beck, who also used effects such as wah-wah and fuzz both tastefully and intelligently.
Farrell’s next album, Upon This Rock, saw more rock elements added to the music. Farrell retained Beck and Bushler, with drummer Jim Madison, playing on all but one of the tracks. Madison had played with Roland Kirk, Michel Legrand, George Benson, Nina Simone, Lee Konitz and Bill Evans. He was also a stronger rock drummer than Gadd, which is probably why Farrell used him. The band is pared down to a quartet, and the lack of a keyboard player means that Beck is given even more space to play. The four tracks include ‘Weathervane,’ a heavy, rock-orientated track which has guitar and soprano sax doubling up on the theme. Farrell solos on soprano and Beck plays a solo that is closer to rock than jazz. ‘I Won’t Be Back’ is a Beck composition leftover from the Penny Arcade sessions and the only tune to feature Hancock, Alias and Gadd. It alternates between two moods - a slow section, where Farrell’s light, airy flute floats like a butterfly above a cha-cha-like rhythm, and Beck plays a long, jazzy solo. The tune transmutes into mid-tempo jazz-rock-funk number that includes some wild drumming from Gadd and Beck playing fast wah-wah runs and snarling rock chords. The tune switches back to the cha-cha feel and Hancock plays an elegant acoustic piano solo, followed by Bushler on bass.
‘Upon This Rock’ is a midtempo tune that straddles jazz, rock and funk. The twelve-minute track opens with a heavy syncopated backbeat played by Madison and accompanied by Beck’s snarling rock guitar lines. Beck switches to a wah-wah-laced riff and Farrell plays the playful theme on tenor. There’s great interplay between Beck and Farrell; sometimes they double up on the theme or engage in call-and-response licks. Beck, Bushler and Madison all get to solo and Farrell lets rip with a sax solo that includes gospel-like flurries and runs. ‘Seven Seas’ is fiery number with searing guitar lines and Farrell’s explosive tenor.
The third album, Canned Funk, has the same quartet line-up, but with the addition of Ray Mantilla on percussion. The title track includes a zany Frank Zappa-like vocal and a tight funk groove, while ‘Animal’ has a shuffle groove and full-throated blowing by Farrell on baritone sax. As with many of Farrell’s compositions, the music ebbs and flows, switching between different moods. In this case, it includes a Latin section that has Madison playing a rock-steady cross-stick groove and tinkling cymbals, with Beck adding breezy guitar lines. Beck’s performance on this number is outstanding, with overdubbed guitars, complex lines, and a stinging solo that includes wah-wah and fuzz.
‘Suite Martinque’ begins in a lively fashion, with Farrell playing a series of skittering lines on the flute, accompanied by Mantilla on percussion, before it transforms into a mysterious, slow vibe, dominated by Bushler’s wah-wah-laced bass vamp. The groove picks up and there’s lots of interplay between Farrell (on soprano sax) and Beck. The closing number ‘Spoken Silence’ is a jazz-funk tune that ends the album on a high, with Farrell once more demonstrating his prowess on tenor.
I really enjoyed this trio of albums and it inspired me to seek out even more performances from this remarkable musician. Joe Farrell deserves to be better remembered, and this release goes some way to making this happen.
Reviewed by George Cole
BGO Records BGOCD1343
Penny Arcade:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, piccolo); Herbie Hancock (piano, electric piano); Joe Beck (guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Steve Gadd (drums); Don Alias (percussion).
Recorded Van Gelder Studio October 1973
Upon This Rock:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute); Joe Beck (guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Jim Madison/Steve Gadd (drums); Herbie Hancock (piano); Don Alias (percussion).
Recorded Van Gelder Studio March 1974
Canned Funk:
Joe Farrell (tenor sax, soprano sax, baritone sax, flute); Joe Beck 9guitar); Herb Bushler (bass); Jim Madison (drums); Ray Mantilla (percussion)
Recorded Van Gelder Studio November-December 1974
History is very fickle when it comes to remembering talent, and the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Joe Farrell is sadly one of those who have fallen through the cracks of jazz history. Farrell was a phenomenal musician, a master on all forms of saxophone (alto, tenor, soprano and baritone), as well as a superb flautist and piccolo player. The proof of the pudding is in the musicians he worked with including, Elvin Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Art Blakey (he replaced Wayne Shorter in the Jazz Messengers), Charles Mingus, George Benson, Billy Cobham (Farrell played on the ground-breaking album Spectrum) and James Brown. Farrell was also a member of the first incarnation of Chic Corea’s Return to Forever, a band that also included Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Stanley Clarke.
The saxophonist also forged a strong musical relationship with producer/label founder Creed Taylor, recording a string of albums on the CTI label. Farrell’s debut CTI album – released in 1970 – had a line-up that included Chic Corea, John McLaughlin, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. So why is Farrell not more renowned? Sadly, he died in 1986, aged just 48 from a form of blood cancer that would also kill another superb saxophonist, Michael Brecker. There’s little information about Farrell online, and when I last searched, I couldn’t find any interviews with him. Some of his music has been sampled (somewhat controversially, because his Estate received no royalties) by hip-hop artists, but other than that, he remains largely forgotten by the wider jazz community.
With that in mind, it’s great to see BGO releasing this trio of albums, which represent Farrell’s fourth, fifth and sixth CTI albums - Farrell would go on to release one final CTI album, a musical collaboration with George Benson. CTI had a reputation for unusual and/or imaginative album covers and these three album covers are certainly that. Penny Arcade shows the profile of a motorcyclist racing at top speed; Upon This Rock has a large footprint in the sand, while Canned Funk seems to have been inspired by Salvador Dali, comprising of an open tin of peaches, one of which has a large human eye staring up at you.
All these albums have a strong cast of musicians including guitarist Joe Beck, one of the most in-demand session musicians around at the time, and a with cv that included Gil Evans, Miles Davis and Quincy. Bassist Herb Bushler had played with Gil Evans, Tony Williams, David Sanborn and Joe Chambers. Steve Gadd was then an up-and-coming drummer on the music scene, and percussionist Don Alias had played with Miles Davis (he plays drums and percussion on the album Bitches Brew). Herbie Hancock needs no introduction. Farrell composed nine of the thirteen tracks spread across the three albums; Beck wrote three and one tune is a cover version.
The opening title track of Penny Arcade was composed by Beck and is raunchy jazz-funk number, with Farrell playing gutsy tenor sax over a funk beat, and Beck letting rip on wah-wah guitar. The piece was recorded and released long before the Average White Band released their sax-driven hit ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ in late 1974. The success of this song (it was a US number one) prompted CTI to release ‘Penny Arcade’ as a single – it failed to chart. The album’s centrepiece is a 13-minute of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Too High,’ an anti-drug song that opened the 1973 smash hit album Innervisions. It’s one of Wonder’s most jazzy compositions (on the original, Wonder, who played all the instruments, plays like a bebop drummer).
Farrell’s version sticks closely to Wonder’s arrangement and the number has the same tempo and feel, but whereas Wonder used a Moog bass to produce a burbling bass line, Bushler uses a wah-wah pedal with his bass to create a similar effect (Beck also plays lashings of wah-wah guitar). Farrell plays soprano sax, with his instrument replacing both background and lead vocals. It’s a tour de force performance by the band – Farrell plays long stretches of graceful, melodic sax lines; Hancock stretches out with a funky electric piano solo that could have come from a Headhunters album, while Bushler plays a short, but forceful solo and Gadd lays down a strong groove.
The last three tracks are ‘Hurricane Jane,’ a jazz-funk workout that includes a mysterious-sounding section with rippling keyboards and strange sounds. Farrell plays a blistering tenor solo, complete with squeaks and squawks. ‘Cloud Cream’ has a heavy Latin groove with Don Alias providing lots of clattering percussion, and Farrell’s piccolo flute singing like a bird. Hancock produces an excellent acoustic piano solo. The closing number, ‘Geo Blue’ has Farrell blowing tenor sax on a bluesy ballad. This is a very good album, and in addition to appreciating the depth, sensitivity, versatility and power of Farrell’s playing, I really loved the various tones, colours and textures provided by Beck, who also used effects such as wah-wah and fuzz both tastefully and intelligently.
Farrell’s next album, Upon This Rock, saw more rock elements added to the music. Farrell retained Beck and Bushler, with drummer Jim Madison, playing on all but one of the tracks. Madison had played with Roland Kirk, Michel Legrand, George Benson, Nina Simone, Lee Konitz and Bill Evans. He was also a stronger rock drummer than Gadd, which is probably why Farrell used him. The band is pared down to a quartet, and the lack of a keyboard player means that Beck is given even more space to play. The four tracks include ‘Weathervane,’ a heavy, rock-orientated track which has guitar and soprano sax doubling up on the theme. Farrell solos on soprano and Beck plays a solo that is closer to rock than jazz. ‘I Won’t Be Back’ is a Beck composition leftover from the Penny Arcade sessions and the only tune to feature Hancock, Alias and Gadd. It alternates between two moods - a slow section, where Farrell’s light, airy flute floats like a butterfly above a cha-cha-like rhythm, and Beck plays a long, jazzy solo. The tune transmutes into mid-tempo jazz-rock-funk number that includes some wild drumming from Gadd and Beck playing fast wah-wah runs and snarling rock chords. The tune switches back to the cha-cha feel and Hancock plays an elegant acoustic piano solo, followed by Bushler on bass.
‘Upon This Rock’ is a midtempo tune that straddles jazz, rock and funk. The twelve-minute track opens with a heavy syncopated backbeat played by Madison and accompanied by Beck’s snarling rock guitar lines. Beck switches to a wah-wah-laced riff and Farrell plays the playful theme on tenor. There’s great interplay between Beck and Farrell; sometimes they double up on the theme or engage in call-and-response licks. Beck, Bushler and Madison all get to solo and Farrell lets rip with a sax solo that includes gospel-like flurries and runs. ‘Seven Seas’ is fiery number with searing guitar lines and Farrell’s explosive tenor.
The third album, Canned Funk, has the same quartet line-up, but with the addition of Ray Mantilla on percussion. The title track includes a zany Frank Zappa-like vocal and a tight funk groove, while ‘Animal’ has a shuffle groove and full-throated blowing by Farrell on baritone sax. As with many of Farrell’s compositions, the music ebbs and flows, switching between different moods. In this case, it includes a Latin section that has Madison playing a rock-steady cross-stick groove and tinkling cymbals, with Beck adding breezy guitar lines. Beck’s performance on this number is outstanding, with overdubbed guitars, complex lines, and a stinging solo that includes wah-wah and fuzz.
‘Suite Martinque’ begins in a lively fashion, with Farrell playing a series of skittering lines on the flute, accompanied by Mantilla on percussion, before it transforms into a mysterious, slow vibe, dominated by Bushler’s wah-wah-laced bass vamp. The groove picks up and there’s lots of interplay between Farrell (on soprano sax) and Beck. The closing number ‘Spoken Silence’ is a jazz-funk tune that ends the album on a high, with Farrell once more demonstrating his prowess on tenor.
I really enjoyed this trio of albums and it inspired me to seek out even more performances from this remarkable musician. Joe Farrell deserves to be better remembered, and this release goes some way to making this happen.
Reviewed by George Cole
