Meet Marvin Falcon

Playing music without looking at the page requires knowledge, skill, and desire. Local jazz musician Marvin Falcon demonstrates this talent naturally by playing his guitars and ukulele. “I’m a jazz guitarist with a classical interest,” he says.

Originally from Brooklyn, Falcon began playing the ukulele as a teenager. He explains: “I went with my friend to help take care of his uncle’s son. My friend asked his uncle to play the ukulele. I was surprised that his uncle was missing his right hand due to a childhood accident. I asked him how Was he going to play his uncle with one hand? My friend said just watch and listen.” The guy put on a watch strap tied to the stump of the ukulele. The band had a felt pick tied to it. The plectrum would extend so you could strum. “He not only played, but he also played melodies. It was magnificent. His uncle talked about moments that change your life, and this was definitely one for me.”

Falcon knew then that he wanted to play the ukulele. “I asked my mom for $5 and bought a plastic ukulele. I’d sit in my dad’s office and play while the shows were going on. I’d also play with my friend’s uncle. I just learned to play by ear. I don’t know what music was something you would write, I thought it was just an environmental thing.”

Falcon played the ukulele in a band with friends from high school. One of the guys suggested that Falcon learn to play the guitar and call an instructor he knew. “My friends wouldn’t let me out of the phone booth until I talked to the guy.” His name was Stanley Solow. “I explained to Stanley that I don’t have a guitar. He was so welcoming that he made me play my ukulele for him, and then he instantly helped me pick up the guitar and read music, which is a gateway to the world of music. He has his own vocabulary and sound. Solow became a personal mentor. Now I was in a career I didn’t choose, it seemed to me.”

After graduating from college and playing guitar professionally in the US, Falcon returned to New York in the ’60s and began teaching. He received a call from a popular black musician, Miriam Makeba, to play guitar in a political performance. When Falcon asked for the music, they instead gave him earlier recordings that they had to learn the material by ear. Falcon explains; “It was an adventure. We only rehearsed in apartments. I was never told that Makeba’s performance starts in total darkness. I was worried about finding my guitar positions. I was introduced to Makeba, the drums started and I just had to play a chord repeatedly during That part. Then Makeba became the center of attention in an outfit that reflected a lot of light. I used that lighting to reproduce the rest of the show, which was a huge hit.” Following that performance, Falcon toured with Makeba to Africa, which included musician Harry Bellafonte to honor Kenya’s emancipation from British rule.

In 1972, Falcon moved to Allentown with his wife and two children. His son Ted is a professional violinist who lives in Brazil. Falcon has played the ukulele with Ted numerous times, which he says is a blessing. “We just know how to play together. We don’t even have to look at the page or at each other.” They played together in Mayfair. It once included Falcon’s daughter singing along with them on stage.

Feels Falcon: “In Allentown, the jazz musicians think I’m classical, and the classical musicians think I’m more jazz. My background comes from the world of jazz, which is about creating music in the moment. I think, therefore, it’s easier for a jazz musician to become a classical player. Jazz musicians can immediately analyze music and understand it from a musical point of view.” He is very passionate about the difference between the two.

Falcon rehearses weekly with a group in his home studio. He can play practically anything from memory. He still performs regularly with a band called the Barrel House Brothers at Steelstacks and The Speakeasy Bookstore in Bethlehem. They play traditional jazz from the ’20s and ’30s. Falcon will also teach a ukulele course in September at the Lehigh County Senior Center. “I’m a gun for hire. I can understand music from the composer’s point of view when I play it.”