Includes Obituary, Biography, Discography, Photo, and Links. Colin Fleming writes fiction and nonfiction on myriad topicsart, film, music, sports, literature, current eventsfor a wide range of publications, and talks regularly on radio and podcasts. Those six numbers with LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Already a member? Composers. 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. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". That is what so many families Sunday ritual were like. Los Angeles Fire Department crews were called to the scene to extinguish the blaze. We never got to enjoy it as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately. 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. 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.. We think of LaFaro as a jazz bassist with leanings toward classical music; its the lan, I think. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. To top it off, the old cars didn't have self-sealing gas tanks and as in the case of LaFaro's accident, if they ruptured, frequently resulted in fire. Our Dad was from here. The important thing is his art while he lived. I get 10 to 12 emails a day asking about Scotty. It originally appeared as a solo piano piece on Evans' debut album, New Jazz Conceptions. Composer: Hammerstein II / Kern 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. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". This is the best piano player Ive ever heard. It was Evanss 1956 debut album,New Jazz Conceptions. Bud Powell. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. It is still so wild to me that he was so influential. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They spent so much time discussing music, listening to records, at the piano, they were inseparable. The entire day's recordings were released in 2005 as The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961. 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.. 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. Put one way: Scott LaFaro was up for it. What a natural setting for a multi-ecosystem guy like LaFaro, the dream bassist for a project of this nature, which is jazz, classical, painterly, open yet demonstrative. 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. Evans stopped performing for several months. On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. 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. LaFaro-Fernandez, Helen; Ralston, Chuck; Campbell, Jeffrey R.; Palombi, Phil (2009). LaFaro joined the Bill Evans Trio in 1959 and, although he would record with Ornette Coleman (including Free Jazz) and gig with Stan Getz, the bassist is best-remembered for his association with Evans, particularly their Village Vanguard recordings of 1961. What kind of influence did your father have on your brothers music? Chicago, 1956. Advice and guidance to those interested in building a library of jazz recordings. We decided to move the family to California. Today would be the 78th birthday of the great Scott LaFaro, who died in a car accident in 1961. Also, the exertion of a formidable musical will to take what was there, in an act of guidance. Search Music. AMAGANSETT, N.Y. - Acclaimed tenor saxophonist Robert Berg was killed Thursday when a cement truck skidded across a snow-slicked road and rammed into his sport utility vehicle, East Hampton police said. Composer: Coleman . Yes, the Evans dynamic provided him with a perfect setting. A stacked bass makes for a stacked musical deck. My dad loved the director, so we had to go and have that experience as well. 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. Though hed previously appeared onGolden Trombonewith Buddy Morrow,The Arrival of Victor Feldmanwas essentially the first LP that showcased his singular gifts. Killed in a car accident aged just 25, Scott LaFaro was widely regarded as the most technically gifted bassist of the 20th Century. Youll have to adjust your ears, but theyll fall into line quickly. 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 25-year old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. LaFaro broke new ground on the instrument, developing a countermelodic style of accompaniment rather than playing traditional walking basslines, as well as virtuosity that was practically unmatched by any of his contemporaries. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. The top of the instrument is a three-piece plate of slab-cut fir; the back is a two-piece plate of moderately flamed maple with an ebony inlay at the center joint; the sides are made of matching maple. Grit is not a LaFaro staple, but that does not mean texture isnt. [1] He played in groups at the College Spa and Joe's Restaurant[4] on State Street in downtown Ithaca. Scotty and I were born in New Jersey but we moved back to Geneva in 1942. Labels. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. Composer: LaFaro Performers: Bill Evans, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Paul Motian, d. 28 Dec 1958. But he was best known for his collaborations and recordings with the Bill Evans Trio. 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. 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? When did your brother start getting interested in music? Find him on the web at colinfleminglit.com (where he maintains the unique online journal, the Many Moments Moreblog) and on Twitter @colinfleminglit. [10] Obsessively he played "I Loves You Porgy", a song that had become synonymous with him and LaFaro. He replaced Charlie Haden as Ornette Coleman's bassist in January 1961. Q: Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. All is possible, and then all is no more. 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 played sessions at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, and roomed with fellow bassist Charlie Haden, who recalled the first time LaFaro mentioned Bill Evans. In Jade Visionshe says, Scott wasnt what one would consider a big band bass player. 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. On March 5, 2014, the Geneva (New York) City Council approved making April 3 Scott LaFaro Day. There was great rapport. 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!. 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. A post-bass bass player, maybe. Three of the tunes from their setBaubles, Bangles and Beads; Where Do You Go; and Airegin were released on CD in 1994. Tom holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he majored in English and African American Studies. Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. Our Dad was from here. It was an idyllic childhood. 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. 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