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. On March 5, 2014, the Geneva (New York) City Council approved making April 3 Scott LaFaro Day. Composer: Urso LaFaro is one of those players who register to the ears like more than one man, generating a huge amount of sound with ostensibly little effort, and that sound resonating as direct, controlled, economical; this is part of the reason why. At age 12 he was recommended for the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, where he was classically trained in violin. He told Helene that Scott lived for the bassHe was looking all the time to play. He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. 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. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. 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. Its the top of the sheet, instead of the coarseness of the winter blanket. Performers: Chet Baker, tp; Phil Urso, ts; Francy Boland, p; Larance Marable, d; Scott LaFaro, b. Often controversial, always entertaining, JazzTimes is a favorite of musicians and fans alike. He stuck with his new hire, offered Scotty the option of plane fare to New York or L.A., and showed him the door. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. Search for: Search. With my mom and Scotty and my two sisters and then our own kids, we eventually had to build onto the house. He heard what I was doing at the piano, and I heard what he was doing. 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.. 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. LaFaro-Fernandez: My father passed away (from a heart attack) in 1957. 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.. It was written with so much love and insight. Ornettes group with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell played the Village Gate for three weeks in August and September followed by engagements in Philadelphia and Detroit. Our Dad was from here. [17], When I was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together. Tonight Show, 14 Feb 1957. It originally appeared as a solo piano piece on Evans' debut album, New Jazz Conceptions. Rocco Scott LaFaro, in a career that lasted only six years, developed skills on the upright bass that few have been able to match. [3] He took up double bass at 18 before entering college because learning a string instrument was required of music education majors. LaFaro began by practicing his fingers off. Shortly after, he acquired a bass made in 1825 in Concord, New Hampshire by Abraham Prescott. 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. Stan was playing a melody, and Scott began doubling it. Scott LaFaro at Newport July 2, 1961 - Killed in a Car Wreck 4 days later. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Before long he mastered the instrument, and he toured with trombonist Buddy Morrow and trumpeter Chet Baker. 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. LaFaro started his professional career playing a German-made Mittenwald double bass but it was stolen in the Spring of 1958. The 25-year old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. [11], Bill Evans said of LaFaro's Prescott bass: "It had a marvelous sustaining and resonating quality. One of the most substantial biographies Ive read in recent years is the 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott. It was released in 1962. 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. LaFaro also played opposite bassist Charlie Haden in alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's experimental double quartet on Free Jazz. The 25-year-old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world." Scott Yanow. All rights reserved. LaFaro-Fernandez, Helen; Ralston, Chuck; Campbell, Jeffrey R.; Palombi, Phil (2009). Click to reveal She proposed the demo as something to shop around to record labels; alas, nothing came of it. . [1] For a time, Haden and LaFaro shared an apartment. The 25-year old Scott LaFaros death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. The last day was recorded for two albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby.[8]. Composer: Hammerstein II / Kern Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. Evanss illness resulted in the cancellation of a long engagement opposite Thelonious Monk at the Jazz Gallery. For many, that Evans association, with drummer Paul Motian, is the LaFaro legacy. 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. You may additional context in comments. We would explore all around our neighborhood on West Street our house was where the elementary school is. When Evans returned to the trio format later in 1962, it was with Motian and bassist Chuck Israels.[2]. Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. He felt such a strong passion for the bass that he became obsessed with practicing, spending countless hours in the rehearsal rooms at Ithaca College. It is LaFaros bass that makes this thing go, such as it does go. I dont blame him, said Morrow. Los Angeles Fire Department crews were called to the scene to extinguish the blaze. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 . May 23, 2021. 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. Stan Levey. 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. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. In his playing you can hear how happy Evans is to have this helmsman at the back of the boatI think it helped him see better at the front. "[3], It was voted number 465 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[10]. Bassist Scott LaFaro of Geneva had already achieved acclaim when he died in a car accident at the age of 25. Friedman relates inJade Visions,He used to play my piano, and was very interested in minor 7thchords with the flat 5th. The car, tree and garage all caught fire. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. 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. 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. Scotty sort of led the way on the bass becoming a solo instrument in its own right. And how does it go? 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. Cool Modal Music Post-Bop. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a154b16ff047cd4 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. Composers. [14] On April 4, 2014 a ceremony to rename a downtown street Scott LaFaro Drive took place. It was then he fell in love with the tenor saxophone. One may even ask the question whether it is possible to love jazz and not love Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, and I dont think youre being a curmudgeon if you stamp a foot and issue an emphatic No, by Jove!. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 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