[Dixielandjazz] Short bio

[John Farrell]

Born in London 19 May 1936. Spent most of my childhood (from 4 to 15 years
of age) in an orphanage where I first began fooling around on a piano,
inspired by the recordings of a popular pianist of the day - Charlie Kunz. I
picked up the rudiments of harmony and melody quite quickly and by the time
I was kicked out of the orphanage to face the world alone had several
recognisable tunes under my belt. Then one day I heard Fats on the radio and
Charlie went straight out of the window - that was how I wanted to play,
that was my thing, for me there was no God but Fats.

At 18 I went into the Army for a compulsory two-year stint and was sent to
North Africa (Libya). Early in my detested military career I discovered that
I had been blessed with a great gift - how to do nothing all day without
attracting attention to myself. Compared with me Bilko was a amateur! There
was a beat-up old piano in the barracks, while the other poor suckers were
playing soldiers I was at this piano learning, learning, learning. Piano
music had never been a hobby with me, it was an obsession.

It was there that I met Phil Tietjen, a name I shall never forget. Phil,
like me, was a reluctant soldier but with a difference - he owned a large
collection of OKOM recordings. It was my first exposure to this kind of
music, I was instantly hooked. Following my conversion, enquiries around
other military camps in the area uncovered a bunch of guys who played
various instruments (two of whom are still active on the British jazz
scene - Gordon Whitworth (tpt) and Mike Messenger (tmb)). So it was that I
played in a band for the very first time, it must have sounded dreadful but
I was in heaven. We played for officers' and sergeants' clubs and for anyone
else who would have us, pay us, feed us and get us drunk.

When my contribution to the mighty British Army came to an end I returned to
England where I joined a band which Mike Messenger had formed to play the
music of Oliver and Morton. This was at the height of the UK trad boom,
there was plenty of work, scores of bands, hundreds of jazz pubs and jazz
clubs, ban-the-bomb marches, youthful dissipation abounded everywhere. The
chronology is a little hazy now, but after I left Mike's band (maybe I was
fired, I don't remember) I played with many others including Preacher Hood,
Steve Lane, Brian Green, The Black Bottom Stompers, Bill Brunskill - and
some which I have forgotten. To support myself I worked at various day jobs
from which I would resign instantly if they got in the way of my music.
Heedless of the consequences I would do anything and go anywhere to listen
to or to play jazz. It was the focus of my life, nothing else mattered.

At 24 I met Mary who was such a gorgeous looking woman that I could not
understand how she could possibly be interested in me. We have been married
now for 43 years, four kids (two of each) and seven beautiful grandchildren
who I adore.

After a year or two of marriage I heard the sound of a piano coming from a
neighbour's house, it was pretty good stuff so I asked him who was playing.
It turned out to be a pianola - I had never seen such an instrument before
and immediately determined to get one. Due to my chronic poverty I bought
the cheapest I could find, a few rolls came with it including a couple by
Fats. That was enough for me - to Mary's despair I spent most of our meagre
household budget on buying all the other Fats rolls I could find, two by
Tatum (much later I learned that they were not played by Tatum but by a
copyist). When I had obtained all the available jazz rolls - in hindsight
they were very few - I got to wondering how piano rolls were made. Very
briefly (because I have posted this information before) I taught myself how
to do it eventually building up a thriving little business.

Until I retired seven years ago I was the legal adviser to a court dealing
only with cases relating to property taxes, to my surprise I was in that
post for 30 years or so. God knows how I got the job, I have no legal
qualifications and can only assume that my Bilkoesque tendencies fooled the
appointing committee into choosing me. At the time of my retirement I
stopped playing in public because I grew tired of all the travelling
involved. However if I fancy the job I still sub for other pianists
occasionally.

These days I get my musical kicks out of writing music on my computer,
transcribing piano recordings and making piano rolls. These activities keep
me in pocket money and pay for my toys and trips to various parts of the
world. I am not interested in expanding into Farrell Multinational Inc., if
the fun ever went out of it I would find something else to do.

John Farrell
stridepiano at tesco.net
http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm