But LaFaro makes the music pulsehe provides its heartbeat and flow. Also in 2009, the University of North Texas Press published Jade Visions, a biography of LaFaro by his sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez, with an extensive discography. Your IP: Death. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. Performers: Pat Moran, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Gene Gammage, d. 1958. We think of LaFaro as a jazz bassist with leanings toward classical music; its the lan, I think. 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 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. 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. LaFaro continued to play this bass until his death. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 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. 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. Does anyone have pictures of this bass, or have you seen it in person? By City News Service. AllMusic Quiz. Composer: Porter: 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. New England Public Media | Other times, its distilled into a moment that seems to transcend itself, and thus it went for Paul Gonsalves, hero of a Newport afternoon. Composer: LaFaro With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. [10] Obsessively he played "I Loves You Porgy", a song that had become synonymous with him and LaFaro. Composer: Urso This is the best piano player Ive ever heard. It was Evanss 1956 debut album,New Jazz Conceptions. - The Absolute Sound Scott LaFaro's Pieces of Jade features long-lost material recorded in New York City shortly before the bassist's death in a car accident in 1961. ~ Scott Yanow. Toggle filters. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". This was Scottys home, and he would practice bass facing the corner in the living room because he could better hear the sound quality. He says they formed an immediate friendship, and that musically, Id never felt such an instant connection. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFarorecounts how three days after his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival with the Stan Getz Quartet, hed driven to Geneva, NY to take care of some business related to his mothers home there. He also played in Stan Getz's band between jobs with the Bill Evans trio. Later in high school, kids would go to the movies with their friends, or boyfriends, or girlfriends. Died . The last day was recorded for two albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby.[8]. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. Born 1936 in Newark, N.J., La Faro studied clarinet and tenor sax as a boy, but in college switched to bass. 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. 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. 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. 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. Bassist Marc Johnson, who was with Evans between 1978 and his death in 1980, wrote in the liner notes forPieces of Jadethat the Vanguard performance was the highest measure of Scotts musical vision. InJade Visions, he says, I must have listened to those recordingsthousands of timesTo this day, I still dont see how Scott articulated his ideas with such startling clarity and velocity., Johnson also speaks for the continuing hold that the recordings have on listeners touched by their emotional richness. A driver was killed when a car crashed into a home in the Hancock Park . Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. This brings about the situation of whether I should spend these hours and months developing what I seem to be able to foresee, or should I dump it and get another job as an entertainer again. We had to have a strong rhythm section and he was definitely of that caliberHe was a dedicated personintolerant of anyone who wasnt giving his best., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngs04EXtDwk. Ted Gioia, in his 1997 survey,The History of Jazz, said, "LaFarotook far greater chances, departing markedly from the traditional walking line, instead offering countermelodies and guitar-like phrases. Everything. 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]. He started playing piano in elementary school, bass clarinet in middle school, and tenor saxophone when he entered high school. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. It is these performances, currently available as Sunday at The Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby that comprise the number one best jazz live recording in this present series. We decided to move the family to California. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers, The 10 Best Jazz Albums of the 1950s: Critics Picks, Year in Review: The Top 40 Jazz Albums of 2022, Year in Review: The Top 10 Historical Albums of 2022, Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers. comments . It was then he fell in love with the tenor saxophone. So help yourself to his more, if you will. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock . "Route 66" songwriter Bobby Troup was the show's host. As was, really, LaFaro. 52.119.1.55 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. Also included is "Porgy", originally omitted for lack of space.[]" LaFaro completed his first year at Ithaca, but not his second. Performers: Bill Evans, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Paul Motian, d. 28 Dec 1958. Scott died instantly and the world lost a talented andinnovative musical voice. In 2009 she published a biography about him, Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro. 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. 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.. But we LaFaros have staying quality, and my husband and I just celebrated our 60th year in this house. Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. [14] On April 4, 2014 a ceremony to rename a downtown street Scott LaFaro Drive took place. Our Dad was from here. Chicago, 1956. 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 trios legendary performance at the Village Vanguard. 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. Composer: Hawes Mom needed the money. 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. Scottys death was hard on my Mom. Joining Palombi on this date are Don Friedman and Eliot Zigmund. It was written with so much love and insight. 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. 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. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. Tracks such as "Solar" (RealAudio excerpt), from the Village Vanguard sessions, highlight his ability to play high notes with surprising speed. The loss of LaFaro hit Evans hard, and he went into a brief seclusion. I suppose technically, yes, though its also far more, and thats a LaFaro thing. John Tynan wrote inDownbeatthat the rhythm duo [LaFaro and Billy Higgins] were the baddest cats on the date. Did you and your brother spend time at the Smith Opera House (which was Schines Geneva Theatre back then)? Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Scott LaFaro - Death. We also spent time at the First Presbyterian Church choir. She writes, What he said not only had an impact on me, but seemed to sum up much of what I had been hearing as I talked to musicians. The two albums released by Riverside Records from that fabled performance,Sunday at the Village VanguardandWaltz for Debby, have long stood as his epitaph. As weve already noted regarding the time period right around his tragic death, LaFaro packed a lot of art into his days. And there truly couldn't be a better way to . Born in Newark, New Jersey, he was an influential jazz bassist best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro began by practicing his fingers off. Life and music of Scott LaFaro, b ; scott lafaro car accident Gammage, d. 1958 quality, my... Still pregnant with my last sister duo [ LaFaro and Billy Higgins ] were baddest! On this date are Don friedman and Eliot Zigmund and start taking part in conversations Paul Motian, d..... Sound and strength of attack is finger-sprung alone the Life and music of Scott,! 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