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 on the original recording of the Corea-penned jazz standard "
Spain." He did numerous sessions and contributed a flute solo to
Aretha Franklin's 1973 hit "
Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)". The
Santana track "When I Look into Your Eyes" (from
Welcome [1973]) includes prominent flute solos from Farrell. During this period, he also contributed
tenor saxophone and
oboe solos to
Hall & Oates'
Abandoned Luncheonette (1973). Some of the most famous funk singles of
James Brown feature Farrell as a part of the horn section. In 1976, Farrell recorded a duo album with
George Benson called
Benson & Farrell on CTI Records. Farrell recorded
Flute Talk with
Sam Most in 1979, which was billed as a duet of the world's two greatest jazz flutists. Farrell performed 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 ==