Talmage Farlow

A gentle and intimate portrait of the lauded jazz guitarist Tal Farlow. The dinner-plate-handed virtuoso was discovered by pianist Jimmy Lyons, but 'disappeared' in the late '50s, cloistering himself in the New England port of Sea Brake, fishing and resuming his first job of sign-painting. His preference for this quiet idyll away from the numbing club round is obvious, and enviable, but as vibist Red Norvo and other friends point out in the film, the gentle giant is far from retired. DeStefano's film proves as much with a sensitivity that never slips into sycophancy.