Before long he mastered the instrument, and he toured with trombonist Buddy Morrow and trumpeter Chet Baker. 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]. What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? We also spent time at the First Presbyterian Church choir. Death. 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." 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_rZZusz90, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTEgBEaEM4. Celebrating the life of Genevas legendary jazz bass hero Scott LaFaro has become an annual event at the Smith Opera House, ever since the City of Geneva declared April 3, his birthday, as Scott LaFaro Day in 2014. Both Nat Hentoff and Ralph J. Gleason took note. He was a tremendous talent [who] wanted to go on to greener pastures.Over the next two years, Scotty toured the country with Chet Baker, and worked around L.A. with Hampton Hawes, Harold Land, Buddy DeFranco, Richie Kamuca, Joe Gordon, and Stan Kenton. [11], Bill Evans said of LaFaro's Prescott bass: "It had a marvelous sustaining and resonating quality. Jim Hall. 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. Jan. 30, 2021 1:47 PM PT. In LaFaros short yet meteoric career, he accomplished more than most musicians do over decades. Kuhn is uncertain about exactly where he met LaFaro, but says it was most likely when he heard the Evans trio at the Five Spot late in 1959. 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. I still have people from all over the world knocking at my doorstep, wanting to see where Scotty played. Scotty also befriended the pianist-composer Victor Feldman, and recorded with him and drummer Stan Levey in January 1958. 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. His most recent books are an entry in the 33 1/3series on Sam CookesLive at the Harlem Square Club, 1963, a volume about the 1951 film Scrooge as the ultimate work of cinematic terror, and the story collection, If You [ ]: Fabula, Fantasy, F**kery, Hope. 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. Scott LaFaro at Newport July 2, 1961 - Killed in a Car Wreck 4 days later. 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.[] Performers: Chet Baker, tp; Phil Urso, ts; Francy Boland, p; Larance Marable, d; Scott LaFaro, b. LaFaro spent most of his days practicing his instrument. Let us be grateful that he didnt rest easy during what would prove to be the last Christmas season of his life, for in December 1960, he was called in for a couple of dates that we must look to every bit as much as the June 1961 Village Vanguard recordings to fully appreciate him. Joe LaBarbera, who drummed in the trio with Evans and Johnson, says, Bill said regarding Scott and the music, that Scott hated it when it remained the same. (, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 23:36. In spring 1960, he featured on a half-dozen tracks that trumpeter Booker Little cut for his second session as leader. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a154b16ff047cd4 My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. Read More Joe Williams: Beyond the Blues, As a JazzTimes writer, I can talk about the powers of a dynamic drummer until Im blue in the face: the weight of each tom-toms Read More Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers, America's jazz resource, delivered to your inbox. 1950s - 1960s. Tom Reneys writings delve into the history and mystery of jazz, blues, and beyond. Performers: Hampton Hawes, p; Harold Land, ts; Scott Lafaro, b; Frank Butler, d. 14 Mar 1958. It will be observed on his birthday anniversary, April 3. He took up bass because he was required to play a stringed instrument at Ithaca College. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. July 6, 1961 in Seneca, NY. Evanss illness resulted in the cancellation of a long engagement opposite Thelonious Monk at the Jazz Gallery. 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. Steve Kuhn, who felt a brotherly kinship with Scotty and says his sudden death was the first major loss of my life, describes him as very strong-willed. (He also says that LaFaro, who was a fan of Formula One and sports car racing, drove a little too friskily for my taste.) A case in point was LaFaros departure from Kenton, which was precipitated by his displeasure with the bands new drummer, a situation that would repeat itself in 61 when he insisted that Stan Getz replace drummer Pete LaRoca. Scott LaFaro. The great bassist is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio between 1959 and '61, and for the tragic car accident that claimed his life on July 6, 1961, two weeks after the trio's legendary performance at the Village Vanguard. Shortly after, their collaboration began. He played in a trio or quartet at Belhurst from the time he got back until he died. LaFaro and his stellar bandmates pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca run through four jazz standards, including two takes of Sacre Blu. Scotty had the concept for a trio to be conversational instead of the classic structure, instead of bass and drummer just keeping time. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. This Third Stream affair has jazz as a major tributary vein, and it has LaFaro to thank for it. LaFaro left Morrow and settled in Los Angeles in 1957. In his liner notes, producer Orrin Keepnews focused on the phenomenon of Bill Evans thepianist, but the lone paragraph devoted to the other members of the trio noted that they werent limited toconventional rhythmic backing, and cited Autumn Leaves, as a harbinger of things to come. When Evans returned to the trio format later in 1962, it was with Motian and bassist Chuck Israels.[2]. 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. While driving home late one nighthis car went off the road and struck a tree. But we LaFaros have staying quality, and my husband and I just celebrated our 60th year in this house. Free Jazz did that kind of splicing and segmenting for you, as part of, neatly enough, its original integrated sonic package. When did your brother start getting interested in music? One of the most substantial biographies Ive read in recent years is the 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott. It was there his career exploded. 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. The loss of LaFaro hit Evans hard, and he went into a brief seclusion. He insisted that Stan fire LaRoca and hire Roy Haynes, and Stan was so impressed with how strong and unique he was that he acceded to his wishes.. At that years Monterey Jazz Festival, LaFaro performed with both the Coleman Quartet and Gunther Schuller. 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. What kind of influence did your father have on your brothers music? Three of the tunes from their setBaubles, Bangles and Beads; Where Do You Go; and Airegin were released on CD in 1994. 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. He started playing piano in elementary school, bass clarinet in middle school, and tenor saxophone when he entered high school. Security video shows a crash in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles which left a driver dead. Scott Yanow, All-Music GuideScott LaFaros life and career were cut short in July of 1961. 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. We were like brothers., Six months before the session with Kuhn, LaFaro recorded with trumpeter Booker Little on April 13 and 15. My day consists of such a singular preoccupationthe physicology of music. 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. [5] He left that organization to work in Los Angeles. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. He stuck with his new hire, offered Scotty the option of plane fare to New York or L.A., and showed him the door. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. Expansive range was a totem of the LaFaro sound, the idea that the bass was so much a bass that it was also not a bass and more than a bass. But you always knew that Read More Kelly Sill, Several years ago, one of Danilo Prezs students was suffering from tendinitis. Available Qualities. Nov 13, 2008 #2 Mark Carlsen Oct 4, 2004 Our Dad was from here. He was a musician from age 4. I was 19 and working. 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. For much of 1958, LaFaro was with pianist/vibraphonist Victor Feldman's band. New England Public Media | LaFaro-Fernandez: After Scotty joined the Buddy Morrow Orchestra, he traveled with them all over the country until they reached California, as he really wanted to be where the West Coast jazz scene was happening. The loss of LaFaro hit Evans hard, and he went into a brief seclusion. At age 12 he was recommended for the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, where he was classically trained in violin. Scotty was on the road at the time, in California. 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. 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. Styles. He had an incredible ear. Fraternal guidance, in that this endeavor allowed fellow band members to do what they best did. By City News Service. The Scott La Faro book was wonderful. Beginning in 1955, he was a member of the Buddy Morrow big band. So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? He recorded with pianist Don Friedman as well. LaFaro originally played clarinet and tenor before settling on bass while in college. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. Oscar Peterson Trio . It was an idyllic childhood. Well, Michael Cera did play a bassist in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. Tracks such as "Solar" (RealAudio excerpt), from the Village Vanguard sessions, highlight his ability to play high notes with surprising speed. It is LaFaros bass that makes this thing go, such as it does go. [17], When I was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together. . Providing entertainment, education, and the energizing force that pulls us all together in celebration of great work. Chicago, 1956. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. In high school Scotty played clarinet and tenor saxophone, in spite of not being happy about a lip injury he got playing basketball at the Y. 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