I remember one time Scotty came home with an LP under his arm. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. 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. Composer: Styne / Sondheim Bassist Scott LaFaro of Geneva had already achieved acclaim when he died in a car accident at the age of 25. 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. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Kuhn remembers hearing that it was a St. Christopher medal that LaFaro always wore that helped to identify his badly burned body. Those six numbers with LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass. Composer: Porter: Once he got the gig, his college days were over. [9], Writing for AllMusic, music critic Thom Jurek wrote of the album: "While the Sunday at the Village Vanguard album focused on material where LaFaro soloed prominently, this is far more a portrait of the trio on those dates Of the many recordings Evans issued, the two Vanguard dates and Explorations are the ultimate expressions of his legendary trio. The entire day's recordings were released in 2005 as The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961. Did you and your brother spend time at the Smith Opera House (which was Schines Geneva Theatre back then)? 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. . Helene makes no secret of LaFaros exacting standards and competitive personality, and she quotes many who testify to the same. Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and others were also featured, and LaFaro drew notice from Dan Morgenstern inMetronomefor a solo remarkable for its technical skill and musical weight. The piece was Schullers Variants on a Theme by John Lewis (Django), which he would also appear on in December when Schullers work was recorded for the Atlantic Records release,Jazz Abstractions. A master of the upright bass, he recorded with Bill Evans and Ornette Coleman before he died in a car crash at age 25. Geller said Goodman was unhappy with his current bassist, and offered to recommend Scotty but cautioned, Bennys very conservative, dont do any of those fast things you can do. LaFaro completed his first year at Ithaca, but not his second. He was excited. Read more about this topic: Scott LaFaro, Time is here and youll go his way.Your lung is waiting in the death market.Your face beside me will grow indifferent.Darling, you will yield up your belly and becored like an apple.Anne Sexton (19281974), Poor fellow never joyed since the price of oats rose, it wasthe death of him.William Shakespeare (15641616), Ai! Performers: Pat Moran, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Gene Gammage, d. 1958. He lives in Boston and has contributed toJazzTimessince 2006. All that listening to the trio had another effect on me. 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 For the 1964 album with Monica Zetterlund, see, The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, "Bill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard & Waltz For Debby", Plays the Theme from The V.I.P.s and Other Great Songs, Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings, Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2, On Broadway Vol. Toggle filters. He played sessions at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, and roomed with fellow bassist Charlie Haden, who recalled the first time LaFaro mentioned Bill Evans. Free Jazz did that kind of splicing and segmenting for you, as part of, neatly enough, its original integrated sonic package. . On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. 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. [1] He played in groups at the College Spa and Joe's Restaurant[4] on State Street in downtown Ithaca. Youll have to adjust your ears, but theyll fall into line quickly. The highlight of the session was Scotts original, Misery (to Lady Day). Evans biographer Peter Pettinger said of the dedication to Billie Holiday, Not much happens, but a wavelength is established. Scott Yanow, All-Music GuideScott LaFaros life and career were cut short in July of 1961. He also played in Stan Getz's band between jobs with the Bill Evans trio. Available Qualities. 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. She recalls that Zoot Sims so impressed her brother that he was impatient for the intermission to end, and that bassist Leroy Vinnegar hummed all the while he was playing, a habit Scotty later developed as well. Helene says he talked about seeing Duke Ellington for weeks, shaking his head in disbelief of howthey could fool with the melody and make it so much more. As for religion, she says that whenever shes asked, I always answer, We went wherever the music was best. That was Dads criterion, be it a mass at a Roman Catholic church or Friday evening Shabbat dinner at the cantors home., Scottys first instruments were piano, clarinet, and tenor saxophone. His death came just ten days after recording two live albums with the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz . 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. So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? Performers: Bill Evans, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Paul Motian, d. 28 Dec 1958. 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. While driving home late one nighthis car went off the road and struck a tree. Other birthdays Monday: Jimmy McGriff, 64; Harold Vick, 19361987; and Eric Kloss, 51. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has We calculated our top 40 new releases of 2022 We calculated our top 10 historical/reissue You never quite knew what Chicago bassist Kelly Sill was going to play (or what he was going to say). Find him on the web at colinfleminglit.com (where he maintains the unique online journal, the Many Moments Moreblog) and on Twitter @colinfleminglit. In May 1960, the Bill Evans Trio joined in a program at Circle in the Square that was devoted to Gunther Schullers jazz compositions. How did that happen? Evans, LaFaro, and Motian were committed to the idea of three equal voices in the trio, working together for a singular musical idea and often without any musician explicitly keeping time. 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. So help yourself to his more, if you will. 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. That left air and spaceand timewhich could do with some filling, some shaping. The 25-year old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. [citation needed], By late 1960, LaFaro was in demand as a bassist. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world." Scott Yanow. The group attended the funeral in Geneva, which Kuhn adds was closed casket., LaFaro's death was devastating to Bill Evans. 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]. Q: When did your brother start getting interested in music? Chuck and Gap Mangione were among the locals hanging out that night, andJade Visionsincludes Gaps recollection of listening to Chet Bakers recording of Grey December with Scotty. 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. Performers: Thad Jones, tp; Herb Geller, as; Billy Taylor, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Elvin Jones, d. June 1959. He proved to be a natural for the instrument, which obsessed him, and early in his sophomore year he went on the road with Buddy Morrows orchestra. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. Pictures of people only please! Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 1950s - 1960s. Jazz. 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. A Dead Musician Directory Celebrity Page. Fraternal guidance, in that this endeavor allowed fellow band members to do what they best did. 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. 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.. He waited until we got interested, and then he was totally supportive. LaFaro-Fernandez: When Scotty was in sixth grade we took our first piano lessons. We spoke with LaFaro-Fernandez by phone to give us a glimpse on her brothers formative years in Geneva. These two albums, recorded less than two weeks prior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_rZZusz90 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTEgBEaEM4. He was a musician from age 4. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. Brother man, I can all but hear Ornette saying, we are going to blow some minds tomorrow.. Youre freeboomto lock in on LaFaro, and I do that quite a bit. Thats his brand of intimacy: the sensation of the stolen moment. 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? An investigation is underway after two people were killed in a crash involving a big rig along the . LaFaro's death took an enormous emotional toll on Bill Evans, who was, according to drummer Paul Motian, "numb with grief," "in a state of shock," and "like a ghost" after LaFaro's death. Gloria Gabriel was one of the dancers. Evans stopped performing for several months. And how does it go? 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. This is the best piano player Ive ever heard. It was Evanss 1956 debut album,New Jazz Conceptions. It was written with so much love and insight. Rocco Scott LaFaro, in a career that lasted only six years, developed skills on the upright bass that few have been able to match. Press J to jump to the feed. Providing entertainment, education, and the energizing force that pulls us all together in celebration of great work. While his music education began in grade school with piano and then clarinet and tenor saxophone in junior high and high school, he didnt start playing bass until his senior year, and only because a string instrument was required for his enrollment at Ithaca College, where his intent was to major in clarinet and tenor saxophone. Composer: Hawes 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. The two albums released by Riverside Records from that fabled performance,Sunday at the Village VanguardandWaltz for Debby, have long stood as his epitaph. Taking a tip from Red Mitchell, he trained himself to pluck the strings of his bass with his index and middle finger independently. 2023 Smith Center for the Arts, All rights reserved. On date night, people would end up at The Smith. 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. In his playing you can hear how happy Evans is to have this helmsman at the back of the boatI think it helped him see better at the front. What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? Showing all 2 results. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Active. As was, really, LaFaro. Grit is not a LaFaro staple, but that does not mean texture isnt. Evans and Dolphy dont feature on a couple tunes, while LaFaro is the constant. Death. He got his first professional experience playing bass at Belhurst (with my fathers group). I quit very fast, but he was a natural. Three of the tunes from their setBaubles, Bangles and Beads; Where Do You Go; and Airegin were released on CD in 1994. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. Victor Feldman. 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. LaFaro was honored in 2012 in Geneva, where a street was renamed Scott LaFaro Drive and an annual Scott LaFaroDay was inaugurated. [17], When I was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together. LaFaro burned like a meteorite, rising to the top rank of bassists in a few short years and working with a Whos Who ofjazzgreats in the compressed time frame preceding his death at age 25. What kind of influence did your father have on your brothers music? Composer: Gillespie Published since 1970, JazzTimesAmericas Jazz Magazineprovides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the jazz scene. Before that grim July night, LaFaro had been a busy bassist. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. Shortly after, he acquired a bass made in 1825 in Concord, New Hampshire by Abraham Prescott. Chicago, 1956. MTV, EMA and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. 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