Sat 28 Apr 2007
John is still in the hospital with no clear diagnosis as to his ailment. He is very unwell and is thoroughly fed-up and miserable. If anyone wants to send him a message -- a 'get well', a bit of jazz gossip or just something to cheer him up -- please do fire it to my email address and I will print the messages and take them to him. We are visiting him every day and trying to keep his spirits up.
With best wishes, Alison (John Farrell's daughter)
"It is with extreme sadness that I announce the death of my grandfather, John Farrell, yesterday on May 30th 2007. Anyone who knew John will understand how remarkable he was, and the impact he had on the world of jazz music. He was a truly dedicated man and I personally would like to thank everyone who appreciated his work and kept his passion alive. He was 71 when he died, and led what can only be described as a rock and roll lifestyle. He will be greatly missed by many people, especially those with whom he shared his extraordinary talent for not only transcribing jazz, but also for playing it. He was a magnificent pianist, though at the same time he was always extremely modest, insisting “I can’t play that!”
"He certainly has inspired me with his knowledge and skills, and I would like to think that in his 71 years he also inspired others. You may also be pleased to know that the letters of good will sent in the past few weeks certainly brightened his miserable stay in the hospital, and provided much entertainment and happiness for him, so thank you once again to everyone who showed their appreciation for John. I hope he is remembered for the brilliant work he has done for jazz, and for the wonderful and gentle man that he was. Violet (16, yesterday)".
Friday, June 1, 2007
The news of John's sad demise was delivered here in Sedalia last evening by Trebor Tichenor at the evening concert. There was a collective murmer of sadness and recognition, which I am sure would have been comforting to John to know of his import in our community. He has also helped me with some materiel (yes, that is correct) in the past for CDs or other endeavors, so I had a good relationship with him. Hopefully his family can find some comfort (as I forward responses) in the reaction from the ragtime community - and jazz - that he has left behind a very pleasing and important legacy with his amazing piano roll arrangements, many nearly impossibly transcribed from less than audible recordings.
Bill Edwards
It's not often that someone like John comes along. He was a remarkable man, a rare talent, and a true English eccentric. John dedicated his life to his music, his family and to his wonderful collection of friends around the world. He has left behind an extraodinary body of work which music lovers around the world will continue to enjoy for years to come.
Those of you who knew John will already be aware of his extraordinary body of work. Not only was he an accomplished pianist, he was also an outstanding transcriber, arranger and composer. His passion for his pianola way back in the 1960s/70s was frustrated by the woeful lack of good jazz available as piano rolls, so he began to cut his own. In a world devoid of technology, he began by cutting them by hand, using a Stanley knife, sitting at the kitchen table. The rest, as they say, is history.
John's amazing jazz transcriptions are almost beyond comprehension. This was a talent that he himself was barely able to understand. That he is no longer here to transcribe on demand is an incalculable loss. In 2006, he took his granddaughter, Violet, (also an accomplished pianist, and at that time just 15), to see Oscar Peterson at the Royal Albert Hall in London for one of his rare, farewell concerts. She took a shine to a couple of the tunes. John arranged them for her and had the pdfs on the email to her the very next morning.
Something that John kept to himself was his talent as a composer. He composed music only when something moved him - the love of a good friend perhaps, or just to express himself more fully. His compositions are beautiful pieces of music, and will remain in the family's private collection.
When John moved from London to a village in the English countryside in the late '70s, he began to indulge his enormous passion for big band music, and set about transcribing some of the greatest music of that genre - Count Basie, Duke Ellington, you get the picture. Not content with that, he then formed an outstanding big band, attracting musicians from all around the region. The Open University, based in Milton Keynes, threw open the doors to its fantastic music facilities, including a huge converted chapel with brilliant acoustics, and John Farrell's big band went on the raise the roof for many years. He would put on big concerts in the village hall, just for one night, and people would arrive in droves. Those were fabulous evenings.
In time, I am hoping to collate some of the material recorded over all the years - the private, behind-the-scenes stuff, and put it onto this website. John deserves to be celebrated in all his non-conformist glory, and as his biggest fan in the entire universe, it is my honour to put this site together.
After a lifetime dedicated to jazz, John Farrell passed away after a sudden illness earlier this year. This website (http://www.johnfarrellcollection.com/) is devoted to his memory, and to the music he left for the world to enjoy. All proceeds from any sales of John's music go directly to his beloved widow, Mary.
I was saddened to hear of the death of John Farrell. John created a huge body of work in transcribing and reproducing some of the great jazz, blues, ragtime and boogie woogie stylists of the last century. Hand-punching piano rolls and, later, arranging MIDI files (which he provided to worldwide fans for free), John almost single-handedly kept alive a tradition along the lines of J. Lawrence Cook. In a way, I consider John the J. L. Cook of the 1980s and beyond.
John was always helpful with answers to questions about arranging and editing. He provided useful comments about my own arranging efforts. He had a killer ear for transcribing old recordings and produced some wonderful sheet music transcriptions as well. His web site contained over 140 MIDI files of his arrangements and transcriptions. Later, when John became angered that some unscrupulous people were downloading his MIDI arrangements and selling them without his permission or payment, he started truncating those MIDI files on his web site. I contacted him about this and he happily sent me a dozen or more complete files. He also introduced me to other traditional jazz piano fans around the globe, including a friend of his in Sydney, Australia.