Geller recalls that at the end of Scottys first night with the clarinetist, the two went around to hear Bill Evans. He practiced from sheet music for the higher-pitched clarinet to improve his facility the upper register for bass. Man, woman decapitated after car slams into big rig on 5 Freeway in San Fernando Valley. And how does it go? Is that a jazz thing? Your IP: 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. I was 19 and working. 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. 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]. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. The Jazz la Mode Blog has plenty to stimulate your interest and curiosity in American music. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. It was released in 1962. Published since 1970, JazzTimesAmericas Jazz Magazineprovides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the jazz scene. During World War II the club scene changed and he came back to Geneva where he could find work. 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. Christian said, Scottys playing was the bible for bass playersJimmy Blanton the old testament, Scotty the new., LaFaro spent the evening of July 5 with old friends in Geneva then drove 80 miles west with Frank Ottley to visit another friend in Warsaw who was house-sitting at a place with a good stereo. Showing all 2 results. July 6, 1961 in Seneca, NY. [1] He played in groups at the College Spa and Joe's Restaurant[4] on State Street in downtown Ithaca. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". The album included five tracks recorded in New York City during 1961 with pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca.[13]. Nearly six decades later, Helene LaFaro-Fernandez continues to keep her older brothers flame alive. 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. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Styles. Bassist Scott LaFaro would die in a car accident just ten days after this album's recording, at the age of 25. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". 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. Died . Helene says that she and Scotty were taken to hear Tony Bennett, the Mills Brothers, Dizzy Gillespie and numerous others. 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? Scotty sort of led the way on the bass becoming a solo instrument in its own right. Everything. Scotty also befriended the pianist-composer Victor Feldman, and recorded with him and drummer Stan Levey in January 1958. 1998 Kevin Crosby. [15][16], According to Joachim Berendt, LaFaro's innovative approach to the bass caused "emancipation", introducing "so many diverse possibilities as would have been thought impossible for the bass only a short time before". Dave Green joins Alyn Shipton to pick the essential recordings of fellow bassist Scott LaFaro's brief but brilliant career, including work with Bill Evans. He would be playing in the hotel room and hit a quadruple stop that was a harmonious sound, and then set the bass on its side and it seemed the sound just rang and rang for so long. By. Available Qualities. 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? Bill Evans. 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. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. Our Dad was from here. 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: Buddy Morrow, tb; Walt Stewart, tp; Dick Johnson, as; Scott LaFaro, b; plus unidentified other musicians. 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 We were like brothers., Six months before the session with Kuhn, LaFaro recorded with trumpeter Booker Little on April 13 and 15. . On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. Before that grim July night, LaFaro had been a busy bassist. Helene makes no secret of LaFaros exacting standards and competitive personality, and she quotes many who testify to the same. Scott LaFaro. [5] He left that organization to work in Los Angeles. LaFaro-Fernandez: Dad (Joe LaFaro) never forced us to play music. Tom was honored by the Jazz Journalists Association with the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Career Excellence in Broadcasting in 2019. 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. Scotty was on the road at the time, in California. She had lost her husband, then four years later lost her son, and she still had young kids to raise. Bud Powell. 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. The group includes Victor Feldman, Stan Levey, and trombonist Frank Rosolino. But he was best known for his collaborations and recordings with the Bill Evans Trio. Stan Levey. Performers: Chet Baker, tp; Phil Urso, ts; Francy Boland, p; Larance Marable, d; Scott LaFaro, b. 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. He worked from sheet music for the clarinet, with its much higher pitch, to improve his command of the bass upper register. Composer: Hawes 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. He emphasized high notes, could play with great speed and his interplay with Bill Evans in their trio was mutually stimulating and influential. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. 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. Postings here are the last known photographs or videos of a person. 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. He remembered that Scotty was dressed up for the Newport appearance. Oscar Peterson Trio . In LaFaros short yet meteoric career, he accomplished more than most musicians do over decades. A professor encouraged him to audition for an open spot in the Buddy Morrow Orchestra. There is a grave mistake a prospective listener can make with LaFaro, and when I say what that is, I may come off as somewhat risible, but one must do what is right: loving the Village Vanguard recordings so much that you sleep on the rest of what he achieved as a certain kind of jazz genius. He had an incredible ear. 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. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. Scotty and I were born in New Jersey but we moved back to Geneva in 1942. Nov 13, 2008 #2 Mark Carlsen Oct 4, 2004 Scott was already playing like that with Bill., Recorded on November 29, 1960, the four-song session wasnt officially released until 2005. He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. 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. Upon returning to L.A., LaFaro phoned his friend Herb Geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York. Evans and Dolphy dont feature on a couple tunes, while LaFaro is the constant. May 23, 2021. Composer: LaFaro [7], In June 1961, the Bill Evans trio began two weeks of performances at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The young bassist was friends to other artists and art during his all-too brief sojourn upon the mortal coil. California had affordable education, and we could all go to college. Little was as star-crossed as LaFaro, and hes usually talked about in conjunction with altoist Eric Dolphy as often as LaFaro is with Evans. Scott LaFaro - Death. Kuhn remembers hearing that it was a St. Christopher medal that LaFaro always wore that helped to identify his badly burned body. Find him on the web at colinfleminglit.com (where he maintains the unique online journal, the Many Moments Moreblog) and on Twitter @colinfleminglit. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs ever made. Former Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Erickson has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Westlake Village that killed two . 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. 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. Shortly after, their collaboration began. 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