Joe Farrell


Joseph Carl Firrantello, 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.

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 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 ". The Santana track "When I Look into Your Eyes" includes prominent flute solos from Farrell. During this period, he also contributed tenor saxophone and oboe solos to Hall & Oates' Abandoned Luncheonette. Some of the most famous funk singles of James Brown feature Farrell as a part of the brass section.
Farrell recorded Flute Talk with Sam Most in 1979, which was billed as a duet of the world's two greatest jazz flutists.
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.

Death

Farrell died of myelodysplastic syndrome 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" 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.

Discography

As leader

With Mose Allison
With Patti Austin
With Average White Band
With The Band
With Ray Barreto
With the Bee Gees
With George Benson
With Willie Bobo
With Frank Butler
With Jaki Byard
  • Jaki Byard Quartet Live!
  • The Last from Lennie's
With George Cables
  • Circle
With Billy Cobham
  • Spectrum
With Chick Corea/Return to Forever
  • Tones for Joan's Bones
  • Return to Forever
  • Light as a Feather
  • The Leprechaun
  • Musicmagic
  • The Mad Hatter
  • Friends
  • Live
  • Secret Agent
With Lou Donaldson
  • Sophisticated Lou
With Maynard Ferguson
  • Newport Suite
  • Let's Face the Music and Dance
  • Maynard '61
  • Double Exposure with Chris Connor
  • Two's Company with Chris Connor
  • Maynard '64
  • Primal Scream
  • Conquistador
With Aretha Franklin
With Fuse One
  • Fuse One
With Grant Green
  • The Main Attraction
With Urbie Green
  • The Fox
;With Bobby Hackett
With Slide Hampton
With Andrew Hill
With Johnny Hodges
With Jackie and Roy
With Antônio Carlos Jobim
With Elvin Jones
With The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
With Rufus Jones
  • Five on Eight
With Lee Konitz
With John Larkin
  • John Larkin
With The Jeff Lorber Fusion
  • Soft Space
With Arif Mardin
  • Journey
With Pat Martino
  • Strings!
With Jack McDuff
  • The Fourth Dimension
  • Sophisticated Funk
With Charles Mingus
  • Pre-Bird
With Mingus Dynasty
  • Chair in the Sky
  • Live at Montreux
With Blue Mitchell
  • Many Shades of Blue
With James Moody
With Airto Moreira
  • Free
With Laura Nyro
  • Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
  • Christmas and the Beads of Sweat
With Dizzy Reece
  • Asia Minor
With the Santana
  • Welcome
With Lalo Schifrin
  • Black Widow
  • Towering Toccata
With Don Sebesky
  • Giant Box
With Dakota Staton
With Bobby Timmons'