The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. LaFaro achieved fame in the Bill Evans Trio, which he joined in 1959 and which featured Paul Motian on drums. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSD3g1ndHE, LaFaro began working regularly with Ornette after Evans became ill with hepatitis in July 1960 and went to Florida to recuperate at his parents home amid rumors that hed died. Evanss illness resulted in the cancellation of a long engagement opposite Thelonious Monk at the Jazz Gallery. Shortly after, their collaboration began. 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. The 25-year old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. 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. Composer: Porter: 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. As such, the album is a sort of memorial record for him; all of the tracks featured were either written by him, or feature a bass solo performed by him as the centerpiece of the track. 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. It will be observed on his birthday anniversary, April 3. In addition to hosting Jazz la Mode since 1984, Tom writes the jazz blog and produces the Jazz Beat podcast at NEPM. As was, really, LaFaro. I was 19 and working. Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. At that years Monterey Jazz Festival, LaFaro performed with both the Coleman Quartet and Gunther Schuller. The helmsman remains present to take us many places where we otherwise might not have gone, and no one has steered that ship better than Scott LaFaro. Toggle filters. LaFaro completed his first year at Ithaca, but not his second. Following the Vanguard engagement, LaFaro played with Getz, Steve Kuhn, and Roy Haynes at Newport on July 2. Scott Yanow, All-Music GuideScott LaFaros life and career were cut short in July of 1961. Also, the last picture taken by a person just before their death is acceptable. 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. 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. Genre. Former Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Erickson has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Westlake Village that killed two . we do worse! LaFaro was honored in 2012 in Geneva, where a street was renamed Scott LaFaro Drive and an annual Scott LaFaroDay was inaugurated. LaFaro took the opportunity, and he was the trios helmsman. Pictures of people only please! 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. Grit is not a LaFaro staple, but that does not mean texture isnt. He stuck with his new hire, offered Scotty the option of plane fare to New York or L.A., and showed him the door. 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 . So even a low speed accident which would be survivable in today's cars, would be a mess in an older car. 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. The two albums released by Riverside Records from that fabled performance,Sunday at the Village VanguardandWaltz for Debby, have long stood as his epitaph. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. 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. ", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIzbINNrqcQ. Read about our approach to external linking. The group attended the funeral in Geneva, which Kuhn adds was closed casket., LaFaro's death was devastating to Bill Evans. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. 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. Both Nat Hentoff and Ralph J. Gleason took note. LaFaro also played opposite bassist Charlie Haden in alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's experimental double quartet on Free Jazz. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. So help yourself to his more, if you will. Youre freeboomto lock in on LaFaro, and I do that quite a bit. Brooklyn, NY The other day at school someone mentioned Red Mitchell taking the bass which was in the car crash that killed Scott LaFaro back to Kolstein's in pieces, and Kolstein, fairly recently, restored it. The trio attracted attention for its style. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. All rights reserved. Become a member and get exclusive access to articles, live sessions and more! 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. Often controversial, always entertaining, JazzTimes is a favorite of musicians and fans alike. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. 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.. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". One of the most substantial biographies Ive read in recent years is the 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott. 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. 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. 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. Joe LaBarbera, who drummed in the trio with Evans and Johnson, says, Bill said regarding Scott and the music, that Scott hated it when it remained the same. Styles. 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. . Sound-carver. Lafaro's innovative bass playing, which combined virtuoso technique with a counter-melodic conception, was captured in all its glory at the Vanguard on June 25, 1961. 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. Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. 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. Evans and Dolphy dont feature on a couple tunes, while LaFaro is the constant. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. Q: So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? We spoke with LaFaro-Fernandez by phone to give us a glimpse on her brothers formative years in Geneva. Here is a verbal snapshot of that conversation, edited for clarity. By City News Service. Other times, its distilled into a moment that seems to transcend itself, and thus it went for Paul Gonsalves, hero of a Newport afternoon. Motian operated the same way; if anything, he was even more of a painter than the leader. Available Qualities. 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!. Is that a bass thing? Hes just so damn elegant. I suppose technically, yes, though its also far more, and thats a LaFaro thing. Postings here are the last known photographs or videos of a person. 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. Helene makes no secret of LaFaros exacting standards and competitive personality, and she quotes many who testify to the same. What happened to your brother after Ithaca College? You can read our interview with Holland here. Tom holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he majored in English and African American Studies. Bassist Scott LaFaro of Geneva had already achieved acclaim when he died in a car accident at the age of 25. We all knew something important was going to happen with this guy., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4CrJ9lyzE, Jade Visionsis suffused with the perspective of an admiring, yet candid sister who overcame the grief of her beloved brothers sudden death and drew inspiration from friends and fans who urged her to write this richly evocative and musically illuminating volume. "[3], It was voted number 465 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[10]. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 08:03. Find him on the web at colinfleminglit.com (where he maintains the unique online journal, the Many Moments Moreblog) and on Twitter @colinfleminglit. Pianist Prez was then a professor at the New England Conservatory; his student, Read More Explaining the Taubman Approach, Everyone knows that Joe Williams sang the hell out of the blues, but do you know what else he sang the hell out of? LaFaro-Fernandez: Dad (Joe LaFaro) never forced us to play music. Later we moved to Elmwood Place, and during the summer we would spend many of our days at the Brook Street Playground. Later in high school, kids would go to the movies with their friends, or boyfriends, or girlfriends. Places to dine, drink, stay near the Smith Opera House, A word of caution about buying tickets on the secondary ticket market. See all our current specials here. [1] For a time, Haden and LaFaro shared an apartment. Your IP: Though hed previously appeared onGolden Trombonewith Buddy Morrow,The Arrival of Victor Feldmanwas essentially the first LP that showcased his singular gifts. The music of Jazz Abstractions proceeds as a series of shadings, which tend to be called variants on the finished LP. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. How did that happen? 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. Scott LaFaro was born 64 years ago today. That is what so many families Sunday ritual were like. When did your brother start getting interested in music? These two albums, recorded less than two weeks prior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_rZZusz90 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTEgBEaEM4. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. Born in Newark, New Jersey, United States,[1] the son of a big band musician, LaFaro was five when his family moved to Geneva, New York. [14] On April 4, 2014 a ceremony to rename a downtown street Scott LaFaro Drive took place. comments . The Scott La Faro book was wonderful. We would explore all around our neighborhood on West Street our house was where the elementary school is. [1] With Evans and drummer Paul Motian he developed the counter-melodic style that would come to characterize his playing. Composer: Styne / Sondheim His death came just ten days after recording two live albums with the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz . He was a tremendous talent [who] wanted to go on to greener pastures.Over the next two years, Scotty toured the country with Chet Baker, and worked around L.A. with Hampton Hawes, Harold Land, Buddy DeFranco, Richie Kamuca, Joe Gordon, and Stan Kenton. The rest is told in his gripping visuals, The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist. 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. Brockton-born alto player and clarinetist Dick Johnson was also on the band. 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