This brings about the situation of whether I should spend these hours and months developing what I seem to be able to foresee, or should I dump it and get another job as an entertainer again. It was then he fell in love with the tenor saxophone. He began working in jazz radio in 1977 at WCUW, a community-licensed radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts. jazz bass Another link(Born: April 3, 1936 in Newark, NJ, Died: July 6, 1961 in Geneva, NY)During his tragically short life, Scott LaFaro quickly developed into one of the most advanced bassists around, competing with Charlie Haden and Charles Mingus. He says they formed an immediate friendship, and that musically, Id never felt such an instant connection. The helmsman remains present to take us many places where we otherwise might not have gone, and no one has steered that ship better than Scott LaFaro. . Also, Club 86 was bringing in major stars as well. Tales are told of how much John Coltrane practiced, but you could say the same about the bassist from Newark. Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. He worked from sheet music for the clarinet, with its much higher pitch, to improve his command of the bass upper register. I remained close friends with Scotty in New York, and would go over there to see and admire them, and Scotty and Paul would come over to the Five Spot, too. Performers: Pat Moran, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Gene Gammage, d. 1958. Having followed him out to Los Angeles in the late 1950s along with the rest of the LaFaro family, LaFaro-Fernandez still lives in California and continues to answer daily inquiries about her brother, conduct interviews, and ensure his legacy will inform musicians and fans for generations to come. That show typically includes stories about LaFaro, who forever changed the jazz worlds concept of what bass playing could accomplish with his counter-melodic style. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. He emphasized high notes, could play with great speed and his interplay with Bill Evans in their trio was mutually stimulating and influential. We would explore all around our neighborhood on West Street our house was where the elementary school is. So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? Q: When did your brother start getting interested in music? Tragically, LaFaros chance to see how far his talent would take him was cut short when he died in a car crash near Geneva in July 1961 at the age of 25. The young bassist was friends to other artists and art during his all-too brief sojourn upon the mortal coil. What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? Not long after he arrived on campus, he gave his clarinet away to a classmate. Search for: Search. One of the most substantial biographies I've read in recent years is the 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. ~ Charles A. Ralston, A Site About Dead Musicians and how they got that way. Born in Irvington, New Jersey, the son of a big band musician, Rocco Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936 - July 6, 1961) was five when his family moved to Geneva, New York. I dont blame him, said Morrow. The all-timer live session that produced the aforementioned discs is rounded out by two studio LPs, Portrait in Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961), which I sense are not listened to as much as they ought to be, but the Vanguard date is sufficiently lambent that it pulls us to it, which is good on one handthis is one sweet, invigorating flameand less than ideal on the other, because Scott LaFaro (who, along with Jimmy Blanton, Id posit as jazzs most important bassist) was a lot more, and did a lot more, than the prevailing narrative would have us believe. ~ Scott Yanow. LaFaro is one of those players who register to the ears like more than one man, generating a huge amount of sound with ostensibly little effort, and that sound resonating as direct, controlled, economical; this is part of the reason why. I still have people from all over the world knocking at my doorstep, wanting to see where Scotty played. Q: So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? Composer: Gillespie Its no knock on Charlie Hadena formidable pioneer himselfto say that if hes a bass player, LaFaro is something else, to use the Coleman argot. He said, Man, youve gotta hear this. Mr. Berg, whose career encompassed free jazz, soul jazz, jazz rock, and straight-ahead playing, was driving east on Route 27 with his wife when Born in Newark, New Jersey, United States,[1] the son of a big band musician, LaFaro was five when his family moved to Geneva, New York. Well, Michael Cera did play a bassist in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. So they were constantly trying for fresh approaches and fresh improvisationsAnd Bill told me, I remember it exactly, If I played the same lick on a tune two nights in a row, the next time I playe dit Scott would play it with me in harmonyhe would actually harmonize it so that at that point it was time for me to get rid of that lick and move on to something else.Is that what LaFaro was trying to bring to Getzs attention at the Blackhawk? It was there his career exploded. It is well remembered as the final performance by the Evans trio of the time, which included bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Bill Evans Trio. The Scott La Faro book was wonderful. Pianist Prez was then a professor at the New England Conservatory; his student, Read More Explaining the Taubman Approach, Everyone knows that Joe Williams sang the hell out of the blues, but do you know what else he sang the hell out of? He heard what I was doing at the piano, and I heard what he was doing. 4 or The Paradox of Continuity, The Montreal Tapes: with Geri Allen and Paul Motian, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waltz_for_Debby_(1962_album)&oldid=1139601889, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Note on the alternate takes: "For this CD release, alternate versions of three of the six selections have been inserted just after the ones originally chosen for issuance.[] The Sampson Air Force Base was so big that it brought in big names like Duke Ellington. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs ever made. Many believe that Evans never fully recovered from the loss, as well as that it contributed to his pattern of heroin usage, an addiction that would later kill him. . LaFaro-Fernandez, Helen; Ralston, Chuck; Campbell, Jeffrey R.; Palombi, Phil (2009). Waltz for Debby is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. He waited until we got interested, and then he was totally supportive. Scott was already playing like that with Bill., Recorded on November 29, 1960, the four-song session wasnt officially released until 2005. LaFaro is best known as the bassist in Bill Evans' groundbreaking trio, and also worked with Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins and the Stan Kenton Orchestra. There is also a street off of Seneca Street, just across from the Smith Opera House, that has been renamed Scott LaFaro Way. We are in a fix! [7], In June 1961, the Bill Evans trio began two weeks of performances at the Village Vanguard in New York City. For when Jazz Abstractions wrapped, December 21 dawned, and that meant LaFaroalong with Dolphywas boomeranging back to A&R Studios for the landmark waxing of the legendary, epoch-rattling Free Jazz, with a lineup of Dolphy on bass clarinet, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums in the right channel, and Coleman on alto, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Billy Higgins on drums, and LaFaro in the left. LaFaro died in an automobile accident in the summer of 1961 in Flint, New York on U.S. 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua, two days after accompanying Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival. Composer: Styne / Sondheim (, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 23:36. Despite his short career, he remains one of the most influential jazz bassists, and was ranked number 16 on Bass Player magazine's top 100 bass players of all time.[2]. LaFaro was taken from this world 60 years ago, on July 6, 1961, in Flint, New York, where he was involved in an auto accident a few days after playing with Stan Getz at Newport. Evans, according to Motian, would play "I Loves You Porgy," a song with which he and LaFaro became synonymous, almost obsessively, but always as a solo piece. Death. Evans and Dolphy dont feature on a couple tunes, while LaFaro is the constant. On December 19 and 20, he took part in John Lewis, Gunther Schuller, and Jim Halls Jazz Abstractions sessions, with buddy Bill Evans and Eric Dolphy. It was written with so much love and insight. Your IP: LaFaro continued to play this bass until his death. Bill had first heard Scotty with Chet Baker three years earlierNot long after we were back off the Goodman tour, there was a call waiting for Scottythat Bill wanted him to work with him., The first meeting of what became known as the trio took place at a Tony Scott recording date on October 28 and 29, 1959. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Composers. Our Dad was from here. This was Scottys home, and he would practice bass facing the corner in the living room because he could better hear the sound quality. His death came just ten days after recording two live albums with the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, albums considered among the finest live jazz recordings. Scotty also befriended the pianist-composer Victor Feldman, and recorded with him and drummer Stan Levey in January 1958. Styles. He also played in Stan Getz's band between jobs with the Bill Evans trio. Then wed go home and have dinner and ice cream. We all knew something important was going to happen with this guy., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4CrJ9lyzE, Jade Visionsis suffused with the perspective of an admiring, yet candid sister who overcame the grief of her beloved brothers sudden death and drew inspiration from friends and fans who urged her to write this richly evocative and musically illuminating volume. Joining Palombi on this date are Don Friedman and Eliot Zigmund. Already a member? LaFaro-Fernandez: On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. At age 12 he was recommended for the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, where he was classically trained in violin. Here is a verbal snapshot of that conversation, edited for clarity. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. I was also told by classical bass players that this also changed things for them because as was with all music pretty much up until then, the bass was considered more of a rhythm instrument only. Stan was playing a melody, and Scott began doubling it. This article is about the 1961 Village Vanguard recordings. A driver was killed when a car crashed into a home in the Hancock Park . Sound-carver. In sum, LaFaro visited Geneva, his home town, spent some time with some local friends, drove one of them to visit a mutual friend, left to return to Geneva, fell asleep at the wheel, hit a tree near Flint, NY, seven miles east of Geneva, and burned to death. A record like this could easily have become just a mood disc: sound as fuzzy, woolly painting, in which the experiment becomes an end unto itself, the gesture, the gambit, being everything. While driving home late one nighthis car went off the road and struck a tree. The tendency is to associate him with classical predilections, but here he is at one of the zeitgeist-shaking avant-garde sessions, and boy, does he drive the sound. Having followed him out to Los Angeles in the late 1950s along with the rest of the LaFaro family, LaFaro-Fernandez still lives in California and continues to answer daily inquiries about her brother, conduct interviews, and ensure his legacy will inform musicians and fans for generations to come. The title track, a musical portrait of Evans' niece, became a staple of his live repertoire in later years. Postings here are the last known photographs or videos of a person. "[3], It was voted number 465 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[10]. Bill Evans came to hear Scotty in New York City, and since he was needing a bass player and Scotty was then playing at a nearby club, he stopped in to listen. Those six numbers with LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass. Oscar Peterson Trio . That huge sound and strength of attack is finger-sprung alone. Gleason commented, It is, however, as a vehicle for bassist Scott LaFaro that the LP really impresses. Later in the year, he toured and recorded with the Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet. For many, that Evans association, with drummer Paul Motian, is the LaFaro legacy. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world." Scott Yanow. Upon returning to L.A., LaFaro phoned his friend Herb Geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York. Yes, the Evans dynamic provided him with a perfect setting. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. The album included five tracks recorded in New York City during 1961 with pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca.[13]. Composer: Porter: Scott LaFaro was an American jazz musician whose technique on the double bass left an indelible impression on future artists even though he died in a car accident in 1961 when he was just 25 years.. Orrin Keepnews told Helene that when the trio recorded its second session,Explorations,on February 2, 1961, Scott was being very explicit about his problem; he was very reluctant to go back on the road unless it was for a lot more money. LaFaro died in an automobile accident on July 6, 1961 in Flint, New York on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua, four days after accompanying Stan Getz . Thanks to Rifftides readers Frank Roellinger and Svetlana Ilyicheva for alerting us that last Thursday, Geneva honored LaFaro on his 78th birthday by proclaiming April 3rd its first annual Scott LaFaro Day. Dont get fancy, no double beatsPlay whats written.LaFaro flew east, passed the audition, and signed on for a six-week tour of one-nighters with Goodman. Pianist Walter Norris described him as a "wild fire," and said "he never used any stimulants to enhance life, but his every moment was seriously lived to the fullest." Composer: Mercer / Kosma / Prevert LaFaro spent most of his days practicing his instrument. I was 19 and working. You know how some people (and you may be one of them) like to go on YouTube and listen to isolated Beach Boys backing vocals and John Bonham drum parts? So help yourself to his more, if you will. They needed a bass clarinetist, and he promised Scotty that he would be allowed to play clarinet and eventually the tenor sax if he took that position. Performers: Ornette Coleman, as; Don Cherry, c; Scott Lafaro, b; Ed Blackwell, d. New York City, 31 Jan 1961. After Scotty played at the Newport Jazz Festival with Stan Getz (July 1961), he went to Geneva to try to convince the people who had been renting our house to buy it. A copy of the latest annual report may be obtained from the Smith Center or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFarorecounts how three days after his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival with the Stan Getz Quartet, hed driven to Geneva, NY to take care of some business related to his mothers home there. That left air and spaceand timewhich could do with some filling, some shaping. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a154b16ff047cd4 Today would be the 78th birthday of the great Scott LaFaro, who died in a car accident in 1961. Scotty sat in. Fraternal guidance, in that this endeavor allowed fellow band members to do what they best did. In May 1960, the Bill Evans Trio joined in a program at Circle in the Square that was devoted to Gunther Schullers jazz compositions. LaFaro died in an automobile accident on July 6, 1961, in Seneca, New York,[5] on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua,[9] four days after accompanying Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival. Killed in a car accident aged just 25, Scott LaFaro was widely regarded as the most technically gifted bassist of the 20th Century. Scotty grew up in Geneva, where his father Joe, whod played with the Paul Whiteman and Dorsey Brothers orchestras, earned a living as a violinist and shared his fondness for both classical music and big band jazz with his children. Published since 1970, JazzTimesAmericas Jazz Magazineprovides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the jazz scene. Performers: Bill Evans, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Paul Motian, d. Village Vanguard, 25 June 1961. In addition to hosting Jazz la Mode since 1984, Tom writes the jazz blog and produces the Jazz Beat podcast at NEPM. I would love to see it. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. [3] He took up double bass at 18 before entering college because learning a string instrument was required of music education majors. 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