More on his story here. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. 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. 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. LaFaro-Fernandez: Dad (Joe LaFaro) never forced us to play music. The bass was badly damaged in the automobile accident that killed him, but was eventually restored and is sporadically used in performance to honor LaFaro. Styles. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. Rocco Scott LaFaro, in a career that lasted only six years, developed skills on the upright bass that few have been able to match. She proposed the demo as something to shop around to record labels; alas, nothing came of it. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. 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. So help yourself to his more, if you will. 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. July 6, 1961 in Seneca, NY. Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. Bassist Dave Green joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of these, and to trace the other significant records in LaFaro's brief but brilliant career. Today would be the 78th birthday of the great Scott LaFaro, who died in a car accident in 1961. 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. What kind of influence did your father have on your brothers music? Composer: Rosolino California had affordable education, and we could all go to college. Published since 1970, JazzTimesAmericas Jazz Magazineprovides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the jazz scene. 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]. Upon returning to L.A., LaFaro phoned his friend Herb Geller, who was then playing alto with Benny Goodman in New York. Performers: Stan Getz, ts; Steve Kuhn, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Roy Haynes d. Newport, 2 July 1961. Smith Opera House is owned and operated by the Smith Center for the Arts, a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Motian operated the same way; if anything, he was even more of a painter than the leader. When Evans returned to the trio format later in 1962, it was with Motian and bassist Chuck Israels.[2]. The two albums released by Riverside Records from that fabled performance,Sunday at the Village VanguardandWaltz for Debby, have long stood as his epitaph. Is that a jazz thing? It wasnt until he left for Ithaca College, where music majors were required to play a stringed instrument, that he first played bass. Already a member? LaFaro-Fernandez: On Sundays our family would go to church, then go to the movies in the afternoon. According to Paul Motian, the death of LaFaro left Bill Evans "numb with grief", "in a state of shock", and "like a ghost". DSD 128 fs (2) DSD 64 fs (2) . But he was best known for his collaborations and recordings with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro also played opposite bassist Charlie Haden in alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's experimental double quartet on Free Jazz. The rest is told in his gripping visuals, The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist. Search for: Search. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. LaFaro was honored in 2012 in Geneva, where a street was renamed Scott LaFaro Drive and an annual Scott LaFaroDay was inaugurated. Let us be grateful that he didnt rest easy during what would prove to be the last Christmas season of his life, for in December 1960, he was called in for a couple of dates that we must look to every bit as much as the June 1961 Village Vanguard recordings to fully appreciate him. Killed in a car accident aged just 25, Scott LaFaro was widely regarded as the most technically gifted bassist of the 20th Century. Bud Powell. Tonight Show, 14 Feb 1957. 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. Thats his brand of intimacy: the sensation of the stolen moment. Available Qualities. 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. Paul Motian was on drums, Nobby Totah on bass. 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. 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. 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. 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. The last day was recorded for two albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby.[8]. Scotty and I were born in New Jersey but we moved back to Geneva in 1942. 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. He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. How did that happen? This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. LaFaro spent most of his days practicing his instrument. We decided to move the family to California. Dont get fancy, no double beatsPlay whats written.LaFaro flew east, passed the audition, and signed on for a six-week tour of one-nighters with Goodman. 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. Dad (Joe LaFaro) never forced us to play music. Q: What were Scotts childhood and teen years like here in Geneva? For Evans, Misery offered a glimpse of a relationship to come., Two months later, on December 28, 1959, the Bill Evans Trio made its premiere recording for Riverside,Portrait in Jazz. He took up bass because he was required to play a stringed instrument at Ithaca College. The important thing is his art while he lived. In spring 1960, he featured on a half-dozen tracks that trumpeter Booker Little cut for his second session as leader. . April 3, 1936 in Newark, NJ. Many believe that Evans never fully recovered from the loss, as well as that it contributed to his pattern of heroin usage, an addiction that would later kill 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. 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. Security video shows a crash in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles which left a driver dead. Both Nat Hentoff and Ralph J. Gleason took note. 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. 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. I get 10 to 12 emails a day asking about Scotty. This is the best piano player Ive ever heard. It was Evanss 1956 debut album,New Jazz Conceptions. [17], When I was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together. 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? The highlight of the session was Scotts original, Misery (to Lady Day). Evans biographer Peter Pettinger said of the dedication to Billie Holiday, Not much happens, but a wavelength is established. 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. 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. 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. When Scotty was killed at age 25 (I was 24), I was devastated I couldn't play for months. Chicago, 1956. Composer: Mercer / Kosma / Prevert He remembered that Scotty was dressed up for the Newport appearance. 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. After Scotty played at the Newport Jazz Festival with Stan Getz (July 1961), he went to Geneva to try to convince the people who had been renting our house to buy it. As weve already noted regarding the time period right around his tragic death, LaFaro packed a lot of art into his days. The entire day's recordings were released in 2005 as The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961. Man, woman decapitated after car slams into big rig on 5 Freeway in San Fernando Valley. Bill Evans. Born 1936 in Newark, N.J., La Faro studied clarinet and tenor sax as a boy, but in college switched to bass. Bassist Scott LaFaro of Geneva had already achieved acclaim when he died in a car accident at the age of 25. Q: Did you and your brother spend time at the Smith Opera House (which was Schines Geneva Theatre back then)? The Scott La Faro book was wonderful. LaFaro originally played clarinet and tenor before settling on bass while in college. He was excited. Steve Kuhn, who felt a brotherly kinship with Scotty and says his sudden death was the first major loss of my life, describes him as very strong-willed. (He also says that LaFaro, who was a fan of Formula One and sports car racing, drove a little too friskily for my taste.) A case in point was LaFaros departure from Kenton, which was precipitated by his displeasure with the bands new drummer, a situation that would repeat itself in 61 when he insisted that Stan Getz replace drummer Pete LaRoca. ), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gzwXQGvXgc, LaFaro signed on with Stan Kenton for a tour in the spring of 1959. 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. Performers: Pat Moran, p; Scott LaFaro, b; Gene Gammage, d. 1958. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock . LaFaro continued to play this bass until his death. In 2009, Resonance Records reissued five tracks from Memories for Scotty on Pieces of Jade, together with twenty-two minutes of LaFaro and Bill Evans practising "My Foolish Heart" during a rehearsal in 1960. Also included is "Porgy", originally omitted for lack of space.[]" 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. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. He says that word of the accident reached Getz over the wire through his manager Jack Whittemore, and that all were incredulous at the news. Performers: Victor Feldman, p, vib; Scott LaFaro, b; Stan Levey, d. 22 Jan 1958. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The CD reissue of the album contains several outtakes. Later we moved to Elmwood Place, and during the summer we would spend many of our days at the Brook Street Playground. Our Dad was from here. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 08:03. 1998 Kevin Crosby. My mom was still pregnant with my last sister. Little, another ill-fated star of the period who died at 23 in October 1961, described LaFaro in the liner notes as distant, but closea paradox that resolves only for those who were simpatico. He also recognized Scottys distinctiveness as an innovator who was much more of a conversationalist behind you than any other bassist I know[Hes] technicallyabout the greatest bassist we have. Remarking on the solo LaFaro plays on Bee Tees Minor Plea, the trumpeter said, The bass is a crude and rude instrument, but Scott makes it into something else. Helene says Scotty would have loved being described as something else, since I could remember how excited [he] was when he brought around to play for me the first record of Ornettes he owned,Something Else.. Q: Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. He waited until we got interested, and then he was totally supportive. 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.. 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. One of the most substantial biographies I've read in recent years is the 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott. Genres. The music of Jazz Abstractions proceeds as a series of shadings, which tend to be called variants on the finished LP. The texture, however, is the back of the handthats the form of caress, rather than the rough-skinned palm. Composer: Coleman 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? 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. For lack of space 64 fs ( 2 ) tragic death, LaFaro packed a lot of,. When Evans returned to the trio format later in 1962, it was with Motian bassist. ), I was 24 ), I was 24 ), I was 24,! 2 ] protect itself from online attacks of Geneva and was driving home late when he in. Was required to play music of our days at the age of 25 (. 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