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? Ornettes group with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell played the Village Gate for three weeks in August and September followed by engagements in Philadelphia and Detroit. Chicago, 1956. [10] Obsessively he played "I Loves You Porgy", a song that had become synonymous with him and LaFaro. 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. He's seen here playing "Cherry" and "Chart of My Heart" with saxophonist Richie Kamuca's Quintet on a Stars of Jazz television broadcast on April 7, 1958. Sometimes its defined by contrasting stylistic paths that amalgamate into a career, as with Miles Davis. In 2009 she published a biography about him, Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro. Rocco Scott LaFaro, in a career that lasted only six years, developed skills on the upright bass that few have been able to match. There is a creek that ran through the park, it would go up past Shuron Optical where they used this rouge chemical to make glass lenses, so the creek was always red. In spring 1960, he featured on a half-dozen tracks that trumpeter Booker Little cut for his second session as leader. Available Qualities. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. What were Scotts childhood and teen years like here in Geneva? Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. Scott LaFaro. Performers: Bill Evans, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Paul Motian, d. 7 May 1960. 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. And there truly couldn't be a better way to . He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. Like Evans, Kuhn, whod arrived on the New York scene in 1959 as a 21-year-old Harvard grad, was being managed by Helen Keane. LaFaro's freewheeling, harmonically advanced bass style with the Bill Evans Trio (1959-1961) opened a door to a wholly new approach to the instrument that influenced a generation of players who followed in his wakeEddie Gomez, Dave Holland, and Marc Johnson, to name just a few. AllMusic Quiz. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. Geller recalls that at the end of Scottys first night with the clarinetist, the two went around to hear Bill Evans. 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.. The loss of LaFaro hit Evans hard, and he went into a brief seclusion. When Scotty came east to play with Goodman, he shared a cold-water flat in the East 70s with Freidman that went for $18 a month. Stan said fine. Kuhn and drummer Pete LaRoca were Scottys choices, but in the midst of a two-week engagement at the Sutherland Hotel on Chicagos Southside, LaFaro had got tired of LaRocas playing. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". 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. Brother man, I can all but hear Ornette saying, we are going to blow some minds tomorrow.. Though hed previously appeared onGolden Trombonewith Buddy Morrow,The Arrival of Victor Feldmanwas essentially the first LP that showcased his singular gifts. Jazz. Composer: Styne / Sondheim Sign in to continue reading, Sixty years after the bass greats untimely death, a look at his musical legacy beyond the Bill Evans Trio. [5] He left that organization to work in Los Angeles. Performers: Stan Getz, ts; Steve Kuhn, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Roy Haynes d. Newport, 2 July 1961. Composer: Urso You can read our interview with Holland here. Mangione remembersLaFaro calling Baker an American tragedy, and says, Over the years, [Scotts] using the term an American tragedy still strikes me as incredibly ironic and portentous [given what happened] that night., At about 1:45 on the morning of July 6, LaFaro apparently fell asleep at the wheel and veered off Route 5-20, hitting a tree and killing himself and Ottley instantly. The young bassist was friends to other artists and art during his all-too brief sojourn upon the mortal coil. LaFaro continued to divide his time between Getz, Ornette, and Evans in 1961. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. His sense of time was freer, less tied to the ground beat, than any jazz bassist had previously acheivedIt is not going too far to see this short-lived trio as redefining the nature of the jazz rhythm section. There was great rapport. Mom needed the money. But we LaFaros have staying quality, and my husband and I just celebrated our 60th year in this house. Ornette Coleman was another musician who appeared on the Jazz Abstractions datebut as with Dolphy and Evans, on just half the recordand I often imagine the conversations he might have had with LaFaro during breaks and between takes about what Coleman had in mind for the next day. Born . 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. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world." Scott Yanow. And youre out, Death letyou out, Death had the Mercy, youre done with your century, done with God, done with the path thru itAllen Ginsberg (b. 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.[] Gloria Gabriel was one of the dancers. [10] Active. Evans also went on hiatus after LaFaro's death for a period of several months. A master of the upright bass, he recorded with Bill Evans and Ornette Coleman before he died in a car crash at age 25. LaFaro started his professional career playing a German-made Mittenwald double bass but it was stolen in the Spring of 1958. Scott LaFaro was born 64 years ago today. Tales are told of how much John Coltrane practiced, but you could say the same about the bassist from Newark. He practiced from sheet music for the higher-pitched clarinet to improve his facility the upper register for bass. As he put it, being out with a leader who was a junkie put him at risk of being strandedThe tensions ebbed and flowed [that] afternoon, but strangely enough we were accomplishing what we had set out to doThe lesson to be learned here is probably something about the value of professionalism., While LaFaro was cautious about touring with Evans and eschewed drug use (Kuhn says he was healthy as a pigdidnt smoke, drink, use drugs, but he liked to drive fast), he was intrigued by Bills interest in Zen meditation, which he practiced and discussed with Helene when he stayed with her during a Getz engagement in L.A. By. But its a moment were meant to be a part of, that both surrounds us and is for us. She writes, What he said not only had an impact on me, but seemed to sum up much of what I had been hearing as I talked to musicians. The loss of LaFaro hit Evans hard, and he went into a brief seclusion. Also, the exertion of a formidable musical will to take what was there, in an act of guidance. We never got to enjoy it as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately. 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. [1] With Evans and drummer Paul Motian he developed the counter-melodic style that would come to characterize his playing. Evans was an articulate interweaver of a pianist, a melodic speaker, a filigree lord rather than a rhythm king. Security video shows a crash in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles which left a driver dead. The BMW then struck a fourth car which was traveling south on Corbin Avenue. Bill Evans Trio. "[12], In 1988, Insights label of RVC Corporation in Japan released Memories for Scotty. Nearly six decades later, Helene LaFaro-Fernandez continues to keep her older brothers flame alive. Taking a tip from Red Mitchell, he trained himself to pluck the strings of his bass with his index and middle finger independently. He began working in jazz radio in 1977 at WCUW, a community-licensed radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts. 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. The CD reissue of the album contains several outtakes. Also, Club 86 was bringing in major stars as well. Pianist Pat Moran, who led a trio that Scott toured and recorded with in 1958, says he was was very aware of his genius and used to love to go into clubs and intimidate bass playersHe was quite a character, lots of fun. Moran is little known today as Patti Moran McCoy, butin 1960 LaFaro was quoted ina profile written by Martin Williams forJazz Review, I dont even like any of my records except maybe the first one I did with Pat Moran., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAbUcKTdcI. They worked together with vocalist Dick Haymes, whose road show included dancers and a comic. Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide Scott LaFaro's life and career were cut short in July of 1961. We are in a fix! He played in a trio or quartet at Belhurst from the time he got back until he died. 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. It is well remembered as the final performance by the Evans trio of the time, which included bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Musician. Upon returning to L.A., LaFaro phoned his friend Herb Geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York. Hentoff heard LaFaro as the most important new bassist since Paul Chambers and Wilbur Ware, and added, It may be necessary to add for those hearing LaFaro for the first time that his bass is not electronically amplified. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. The last day was recorded for two albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby.[8]. By City News Service. This year The Smith is excited to have National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters, Kenny Barron (piano) and Dave Holland (bass), together on stage on Saturday, April 6. One may even ask the question whether it is possible to love jazz and not love Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, and I dont think youre being a curmudgeon if you stamp a foot and issue an emphatic No, by Jove!. There is fealty and gratitude in Evans approach to that famed date, and we have our early summer day out with the best of chums, people we feel are our musical friends. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. Those six numbers with LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass. LaFaro-Fernandez: When Scotty was in sixth grade we took our first piano lessons. Paul Motian was on drums, Nobby Totah on bass. Free Jazz did that kind of splicing and segmenting for you, as part of, neatly enough, its original integrated sonic package. Scottys death was hard on my Mom. I return to the idea of the helmsman, because LaFaro always plays as if hes en route to some vital destination, and hes helping to take other musicians there, and, of course, those of us who are listening in. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. In 2009, Resonance Records reissued five tracks from Memories for Scotty on Pieces of Jade, together with twenty-two minutes of LaFaro and Bill Evans practising "My Foolish Heart" during a rehearsal in 1960. MTV, EMA and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. 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Q: Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. May 23, 2021. He became a professional musician in New York City during the Roaring 20s. Providing entertainment, education, and the energizing force that pulls us all together in celebration of great work. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time - BassPlayer.com", "It was just one afternoon in a jazz club forty years ago", "It's official: April 3 will be Scott LaFaro Day in Geneva", "Innovation and Inspiration: Geneva celebrates the life and legacy of renowned jazz musician Scott LaFaro", "Honoring Scott LaFaro in Geneva, NY: Scott LaFaro Day, street re-naming, and a special Geneva Night Out on April 4th", NAMM Oral History Interview with Helene La Faro, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_LaFaro&oldid=1141284283, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from July 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Herb geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York City during the Roaring 20s vocalist! 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