Haynes shared with Scotty a fastidiousness about clothing, and hed just been named toEsquiresBest-Dressed list. It was there his career exploded. DSD 128 fs (2) DSD 64 fs (2) . 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.. 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. But you always knew that Read More Kelly Sill, Several years ago, one of Danilo Prezs students was suffering from tendinitis. So help yourself to his more, if you will. [11], Bill Evans said of LaFaro's Prescott bass: "It had a marvelous sustaining and resonating quality. 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 Performance & security by Cloudflare. Born in Irvington, New Jersey, the son of a big band musician, Rocco Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936 - July 6, 1961) was five when his family moved to Geneva, New York. All that listening to the trio had another effect on me. LaFaro went on to perform with Victor Feldman, Chet Baker, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Stan Getz and Ornette Coleman. LaFaro continued to play this bass until his death. 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. It was released in 1962. It was there his career exploded. Scotty was on the road at the time, in California. That left air and spaceand timewhich could do with some filling, some shaping. Scott LaFaro at Newport July 2, 1961 - Killed in a Car Wreck 4 days later. When we were in junior high school, Godfrey Brown, the head of the high school music department, would come there to recruit for positions they needed to fill in the band and orchestra. Composer: Rosolino Published since 1970, JazzTimesAmericas Jazz Magazineprovides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the jazz scene. 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. I remained close friends with Scotty in New York, and would go over there to see and admire them, and Scotty and Paul would come over to the Five Spot, too. My sense has always been that the music of this slipstream space needs him, all but knocks on his door and asks the helmsman to come out again. RE: Person I Knew is a tribute to bass legend Scott LaFaro, who died tragically in a car accident 50 years ago this year at the age of 25.Phil Palombi plays the EXACT bass that made Scotty a legend on the Bill Evans Trio, Live at the Village Vanguard Sessions!. Read about our approach to external linking. A post-bass bass player, maybe. Well, Michael Cera did play a bassist in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? A master of the upright bass, he recorded with Bill Evans and Ornette Coleman before he died in a car crash at age 25. On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. Composers. 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. An investigation is underway after two people were killed in a crash involving a big rig along the . Three of the tunes from their setBaubles, Bangles and Beads; Where Do You Go; and Airegin were released on CD in 1994. LaFaro died in an automobile accident on July 6, 1961, in Seneca, New York,[5] on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua,[9] four days after accompanying Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival. Performers: Chet Baker, tp; Phil Urso, ts; Francy Boland, p; Larance Marable, d; Scott LaFaro, b. [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. We never got to enjoy it as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately. ai! 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. Helene says that she and Scotty were taken to hear Tony Bennett, the Mills Brothers, Dizzy Gillespie and numerous others. 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. Also, the last picture taken by a person just before their death is acceptable. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he was an influential jazz bassist best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio. Born 1936 in Newark, N.J., La Faro studied clarinet and tenor sax as a boy, but in college switched to bass. 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. He also played in Stan Getz's band between jobs with the Bill Evans trio. 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. Musician. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. Security video shows a crash in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles which left a driver dead. 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. 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. Scott died instantly and the world lost a talented andinnovative musical voice. Labels. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. 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. Upon returning to L.A., LaFaro phoned his friend Herb Geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York. 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. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. 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. Jan. 30, 2021 1:47 PM PT. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. The album was the fourth and final effort from the unitLaFaro died in a car accident just ten days after the live date at the Village Vanguard from which Waltz for Debby and its predecessor, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, were taken. All is possible, and then all is no more. Scott Yanow, All-Music GuideScott LaFaros life and career were cut short in July of 1961. It was written with so much love and insight. Performers: Thad Jones, tp; Herb Geller, as; Billy Taylor, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Elvin Jones, d. June 1959. The trio attracted attention for its style. . Performers: Ornette Coleman, as; Don Cherry, c; Scott Lafaro, b; Ed Blackwell, d. New York City, 31 Jan 1961. 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. We were like brothers., Six months before the session with Kuhn, LaFaro recorded with trumpeter Booker Little on April 13 and 15. Tom holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he majored in English and African American Studies. Yes, the Evans dynamic provided him with a perfect setting. Joining Palombi on this date are Don Friedman and Eliot Zigmund. [10] Obsessively he played "I Loves You Porgy", a song that had become synonymous with him and LaFaro. 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. The Jazz la Mode Blog has plenty to stimulate your interest and curiosity in American music. I get 10 to 12 emails a day asking about Scotty. In May 1960, the Bill Evans Trio joined in a program at Circle in the Square that was devoted to Gunther Schullers jazz compositions. July 6, 1961 in Seneca, NY. It wasnt until he left for Ithaca College, where music majors were required to play a stringed instrument, that he first played bass. 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. There was great rapport. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. In Meet Me at Jim & Andy's: Jazz Musicians and Their World, Gene Lees wrote, "The shock of LaFaro's death stayed with Bill for years, and he felt vaguely guilty about itHe felt that because of his heroin habit he had made insufficient use of [their] time togetherAfter LaFaro's death, Bill was like a mane with a lost love, always looking to find its replacement. LaFaro began by practicing his fingers off. Tom was honored by the Jazz Journalists Association with the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Career Excellence in Broadcasting in 2019. 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. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Pictures of people only please! And there truly couldn't be a better way to . She had lost her husband, then four years later lost her son, and she still had young kids to raise. we do worse! Sometimes its defined by contrasting stylistic paths that amalgamate into a career, as with Miles Davis. Shortly after, he acquired a bass made in 1825 in Concord, New Hampshire by Abraham Prescott. LaFaro completed his first year at Ithaca, but not his second. He quoted Evans, who said, Im hoping the trio will grow in the direction of simultaneous improvisationIf the bass player, for example, hears an idea that he wants to answer, why should he just keep playing a background?, Scotty, of course, heard and answered plenty of ideas. 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. Composer: Coleman LaFaro died in an automobile accident on July 6, 1961, in Seneca, New York, [5] on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua, [9] four days after accompanying Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival. Chicago, 1956. 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. Scottys death was hard on my Mom. Bud Powell. Q: What were Scotts childhood and teen years like here in Geneva? Man, woman decapitated after car slams into big rig on 5 Freeway in San Fernando Valley. But LaFaro had a pronounced Dolphy streak too, in that both musicians were playmakers, facilitators, helping others to raise their games by playing theirs at the highest level. 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. A Dead Musician Directory Celebrity Page. This article is about the 1961 Village Vanguard recordings. Bill Evans. We were the kind that played a fraction, a millimeter behind. Also, Club 86 was bringing in major stars as well. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". He would have played twenty-four hours a day if he couldHe was learning a mile a minute., Morrows outfit had a big hit with Night Train. The bandleader told Helene, We were a band which was dedicated at the time to mainly rhythm and blues. California had affordable education, and we could all go to college. Performers: Buddy Morrow, tb; Walt Stewart, tp; Dick Johnson, as; Scott LaFaro, b; plus unidentified other musicians. 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. Active. Tom Reneys writings delve into the history and mystery of jazz, blues, and beyond. Brockton-born alto player and clarinetist Dick Johnson was also on the band. I was 19 and working. LaFaro is a potent cup of teaa brilliant future is in store for this youthful bassist from Geneva, N.Y., (Film footage ofLaFarois extremely rare. 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. Our Dad was from here. It originally appeared as a solo piano piece on Evans' debut album, New Jazz Conceptions. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. He took up bass because he was required to play a stringed instrument at Ithaca College. Tracks such as "Solar" (RealAudio excerpt), from the Village Vanguard sessions, highlight his ability to play high notes with surprising speed. Born . The album was the fourth and final effort from the unitLaFaro died in a car accident just ten days after the live date at the Village Vanguard from which Waltz for Debby and its predecessor, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, were taken. LaFaro also played opposite bassist Charlie Haden in alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's experimental double quartet on Free Jazz. See all our current specials here. Scott LaFaro. LaFaro continued to divide his time between Getz, Ornette, and Evans in 1961. New England Public Media | Scotty sort of led the way on the bass becoming a solo instrument in its own right. Is that a bass thing? He remembered that Scotty was dressed up for the Newport appearance. How did that happen? Tales are told of how much John Coltrane practiced, but you could say the same about the bassist from Newark. He had an incredible ear. You may additional context in comments. 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. Places to dine, drink, stay near the Smith Opera House, A word of caution about buying tickets on the secondary ticket market. [5] He left that organization to work in Los Angeles. LaFaro originally played clarinet and tenor before settling on bass while in college. Jazz. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. 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. Fraternal guidance, in that this endeavor allowed fellow band members to do what they best did. I suppose technically, yes, though its also far more, and thats a LaFaro thing. The Scott La Faro book was wonderful. At that years Monterey Jazz Festival, LaFaro performed with both the Coleman Quartet and Gunther Schuller. . He waited until we got interested, and then he was totally supportive. Does anyone have pictures of this bass, or have you seen it in person? After three months at Ithaca College, he concentrated on bass. He was excited. 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. Here is a verbal snapshot of that conversation, edited for clarity. Taking a tip from Red Mitchell, he trained himself to pluck the strings of his bass with his index and middle finger independently. Perhaps one thinks of the contrast, as I do: the balmy New England coast, sailboats alongside the bandstand, and then the hard, unforgiving asphalt of the interstate. For many, that Evans association, with drummer Paul Motian, is the LaFaro legacy. Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. I dont blame him, said Morrow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNqSL3xGW70, The Evans Trios appearance at the Village Vanguard opposite Lambert, Hendricks & Ross in June 1961 culminated with the legendary recordings made on the last day of the two-week engagement, Sunday, June 25. He got his first professional experience playing bass at Belhurst (with my fathers group). Ornette drew mixed reviews everywhere including Monterey, where his performance of Youll Never Know elicited a scathing review from John Tynan, who said it was patently bad, disturbed, and utterly unhappy. Still, he singled out LaFaro for his brilliant technique and ideas [that] were remarked on by all., Scotty was given to introspective thoughts about where the music was going and what he recognized as the increasing distance between jazzs new direction and the public. 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. Q: What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? In Jeff Campbells essay, Scott LaFaro: The Complete Musician (an addendum toJade Visions), he singles out the trios performance of So What, saying that LaFaro and Kuhn engage in a brief musical dialogue just prior to the return of the theme[improvising] melodic ideas that are intertwined in a conversational manner. Campbell notes that LaFaros accompaniment on Whats New is much more activethan the traditional conventions of ballad playing., It is an interesting fact, Campbell asserts, That the earliest example of LaFaros active, conversational ballad accompaniment was with Steve Kuhn and not Bill Evans. When I ran this claim by Kuhn, he said, I dont agree with that necessarily. Lets call it the chimerical voice of the rhythm sectionas well as what could often be the lead instrument when LaFaro was in your band. AllMusic Quiz. 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.[] LaFaro died in an automobile accident on July 6, 1961 in Flint, New York on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua, four days after accompanying Stan Getz . In a December 29, 1960 letter addressed to his lover Gloria Gabriel, the dancer to whom he dedicated Glorias Step, he wrote, One important thing is that I realize day by day the true artist and musician is becoming more and more meaningless in terms of public comprehension. Composer: Gillespie The Getz Quartet, with either Henry Grimes or Jimmy Garrison spelling LaFaro (Kuhn cant recall for certain), was playing that week at Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. 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. Scotty and I were born in New Jersey but we moved back to Geneva in 1942. Includes Obituary, Biography, Discography, Photo, and Links. Beginning in 1955, he was a member of the Buddy Morrow big band. The 25-year old Scott LaFaros death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. He was with Buddy Morrows band (1955-56), toured with Chet Baker (1956-57) and worked during the next few years with Ira Sullivan, Barney Kessel, Cal Tjader and Benny Goodman among others. 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. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. 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. Performers: Hampton Hawes, p; Harold Land, ts; Scott Lafaro, b; Frank Butler, d. 14 Mar 1958. The all-timer live session that produced the aforementioned discs is rounded out by two studio LPs, Portrait in Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961), which I sense are not listened to as much as they ought to be, but the Vanguard date is sufficiently lambent that it pulls us to it, which is good on one handthis is one sweet, invigorating flameand less than ideal on the other, because Scott LaFaro (who, along with Jimmy Blanton, Id posit as jazzs most important bassist) was a lot more, and did a lot more, than the prevailing narrative would have us believe.