Joe Farrell

All Music Guide:

Joe Farrell's CTI albums of 1970-1976, which combined together his hard bop style with some pop and fusion elements, made him briefly popular among listeners not familiar with his earlier work. Farrell began playing clarinet when he was 11 and, after graduating from the University of Illinois in 1959, he moved to New York where he worked with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band (1960-1961) and Slide Hampton (1962), and recorded with Charles Mingus, Dizzy Reece, and a notable series with Jaki Byard (1965). A member of both the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (1966-1969) and Elvin Jones' combo (1967-1970), Farrell's distinctive sound on tenor and general versatility were assets. A member of the original version of Return to Forever (1971-1972), Farrell was fairly prosperous during the 1970s when his solo CTI records sold well, but a drug problem gradually caught up with him. After performing with Mingus Dynasty in the late '70s and recording with Louis Hayes in 1983, he moved to Los Angeles where he scuffled during his last couple of years. Farrell died from bone cancer in 1986 at age 48. In addition to CTI, Farrell recorded as a leader for Warner Bros., Xanadu, Contemporary, RealTime, Timeless, and (with Airto and Flora Purim) Reference.

Wikipedia:

Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz 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.

Biography

Farrell was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States.

In the 1960s, Farrell played with The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. He also recorded with Charles Mingus, Andrew Hill, Jaki Byard, Players Association and Elvin Jones.

With the group Fuse One, he released two albums in 1980 and 1982. He also can be heard on the pop recordings of Hall & Oates playing oboe and soprano saxophone.

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 bone cancer in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 1986 at the age of 48.

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.