scott lafaro car accident

This is the best piano player Ive ever heard. It was Evanss 1956 debut album,New Jazz Conceptions. Here is a verbal snapshot of that conversation, edited for clarity. When did your brother start getting interested in music? So if you were all living in California, how was it that your brother was near Geneva when he died? But LaFaro makes the music pulsehe provides its heartbeat and flow. LaFaro started his professional career playing a German-made Mittenwald double bass but it was stolen in the Spring of 1958. 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. LaFaro and his stellar bandmates pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca run through four jazz standards, including two takes of Sacre Blu. Composer: Rosolino 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. Search Music. Kuhn remembers hearing that it was a St. Christopher medal that LaFaro always wore that helped to identify his badly burned body. LaFaro achieved fame in the Bill Evans Trio, which he joined in 1959 and which featured Paul Motian on drums. 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. 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 trio's . Bassist Scott LaFaro would die in a car accident just ten days after this album's recording, at the age of 25. That is what so many families Sunday ritual were like. We decided to move the family to California. Friedman first heard LaFaro with Buddy Morrow, and then they worked together with Chet Baker. For much of 1958, LaFaro was with pianist/vibraphonist Victor Feldman's band. "[12], In 1988, Insights label of RVC Corporation in Japan released Memories for Scotty. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs ever made. Composer: Mercer / Kosma / Prevert Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. Read more about this topic: Scott LaFaro, Time is here and youll go his way.Your lung is waiting in the death market.Your face beside me will grow indifferent.Darling, you will yield up your belly and becored like an apple.Anne Sexton (19281974), Poor fellow never joyed since the price of oats rose, it wasthe death of him.William Shakespeare (15641616), Ai! He was a musician from age 4. Providing entertainment, education, and the energizing force that pulls us all together in celebration of great work. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. In LaFaros short yet meteoric career, he accomplished more than most musicians do over decades. He told Helene that Scott lived for the bassHe was looking all the time to play. At age 12 he was recommended for the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, where he was classically trained in violin. 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. 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. He said, Man, youve gotta hear this. 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. "Route 66" songwriter Bobby Troup was the show's host. 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'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. We were the kind that played a fraction, a millimeter behind. 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. Composer: Hammerstein II / Kern You may additional context in comments. 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. The music of Jazz Abstractions proceeds as a series of shadings, which tend to be called variants on the finished LP. The group includes Victor Feldman, Stan Levey, and trombonist Frank Rosolino. Thats his brand of intimacy: the sensation of the stolen moment. On March 5, 2014, the Geneva (New York) City Council approved making April 3 Scott LaFaro Day. All that listening to the trio had another effect on me. 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. Scott died instantly and the world lost a talented andinnovative musical voice. 2023 Smith Center for the Arts, All rights reserved. I get 10 to 12 emails a day asking about Scotty. Smith Opera House is owned and operated by the Smith Center for the Arts, a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Scotty was on the road at the time, in California. Scott LaFaro - Artist Details. Composer: Urso That left air and spaceand timewhich could do with some filling, some shaping. 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. Genre. 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. Performers: Victor Feldman, p, vib; Scott LaFaro, b; Stan Levey, d. 22 Jan 1958. When Evans returned to the trio format later in 1962, it was with Motian and bassist Chuck Israels.[2]. 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. LaFaro-Fernandez: My father passed away (from a heart attack) in 1957. 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. We never got to enjoy it as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately. Such is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro, though I would suggest that what was was more than we often think. [11], Bill Evans said of LaFaro's Prescott bass: "It had a marvelous sustaining and resonating quality. 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. He became a professional musician in New York City during the Roaring 20s. LaFaro-Fernandez: Dad (Joe LaFaro) never forced us to play music. Nearly six decades later, Helene LaFaro-Fernandez continues to keep her older brothers flame alive. 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. Is that a jazz thing? 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. The CD reissue of the album contains several outtakes. He took up bass because he was required to play a stringed instrument at Ithaca College. A stacked bass makes for a stacked musical deck. A record like this could easily have become just a mood disc: sound as fuzzy, woolly painting, in which the experiment becomes an end unto itself, the gesture, the gambit, being everything. When Scotty was killed at age 25 (I was 24), I was devastated I couldn't play for months. He was playing mandolin and violin publicly by age 7. 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. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 08:03. (, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 23:36. He played a lot of top, cymbals, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn. 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. Genres. In the mid 1950s, at the Los Angeles music scene, he became known as one of. It was released in 1962. After that touch of piano, he really started to enjoy music and develop a keen awareness of what it was all about. 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. Then wed go home and have dinner and ice cream. Youll have to adjust your ears, but theyll fall into line quickly. 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!. A Dead Musician Directory Celebrity Page. The title track, a musical portrait of Evans' niece, became a staple of his live repertoire in later years. Q: Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. Scotty sort of led the way on the bass becoming a solo instrument in its own right. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time - BassPlayer.com", "It was just one afternoon in a jazz club forty years ago", "It's official: April 3 will be Scott LaFaro Day in Geneva", "Innovation and Inspiration: Geneva celebrates the life and legacy of renowned jazz musician Scott LaFaro", "Honoring Scott LaFaro in Geneva, NY: Scott LaFaro Day, street re-naming, and a special Geneva Night Out on April 4th", NAMM Oral History Interview with Helene La Faro, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_LaFaro&oldid=1141284283, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from July 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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. 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. He remembered that Scotty was dressed up for the Newport appearance. Those six numbers with LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass. The 25-year old Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. I was 19 and working. The two albums released by Riverside Records from that fabled performance,Sunday at the Village VanguardandWaltz for Debby, have long stood as his epitaph. 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. Around this time he received a greeting card from Miles Davis suggesting that Davis wanted to hire him. Press J to jump to the feed. When Scotty was in sixth grade we took our first piano lessons. He was visiting some friends west of Geneva and was driving home late when he crashed. Later we moved to Elmwood Place, and during the summer we would spend many of our days at the Brook Street Playground. [17], When I was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together. It will be observed on his birthday anniversary, April 3. He died near Geneva in an auto accident in 1961. 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. Right there on stage, Stan stopped playing and yelled, MF, Ive got the melody! Notwithstanding flair-ups of this kind, Kuhn says that Getz held LaFaro in the highest regard. 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. It was written with so much love and insight. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. Scott was extremely picky and choosy, and he wanted to call the trio. 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. Read More Joe Williams: Beyond the Blues, As a JazzTimes writer, I can talk about the powers of a dynamic drummer until Im blue in the face: the weight of each tom-toms Read More Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers, America's jazz resource, delivered to your inbox. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. AllMusic Quiz. Everyone would say Dont go to the creek! but we did anyway, and would come home with red shoes. 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. Musician. Your family ended up following Scotty out to California. 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. 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. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs . 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. This Third Stream affair has jazz as a major tributary vein, and it has LaFaro to thank for it. He was his own thing. He waited until we got interested, and then he was totally supportive. 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. The 25-year old Scott LaFaros death in a car accident shortly after was a major shock to the jazz world. A master of the upright bass, he recorded with Bill Evans and Ornette Coleman before he died in a car crash at age 25. I quit very fast, but he was a natural. 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. So even a low speed accident which would be survivable in today's cars, would be a mess in an older car. "[3], It was voted number 465 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[10]. Before long he mastered the instrument, and he toured with trombonist Buddy Morrow and trumpeter Chet Baker. Shortly after, their collaboration began. 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 recorded with pianist Don Friedman as well. Q: Did you and your brother spend time at the Smith Opera House (which was Schines Geneva Theatre back then)? ", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Z8KuwI7Gc, Jade Visionscredits the demo session that LaFaro made with Steve Kuhn and Pete LaRoca nearly a year later as one where this conversational approach to group dynamics was evident. Like Evans, Kuhn, whod arrived on the New York scene in 1959 as a 21-year-old Harvard grad, was being managed by Helen Keane. Q: When did your brother start getting interested in music? Each year during the first week of April, The Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro Day Celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player. We never got to enjoy it as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately. 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.. Together with Chet Baker, Scotty LaFaro and his stellar bandmates pianist Don friedman and Pete! Great work takes of Sacre Blu ) never forced us to play forced us to.... He toured and recorded with the Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet the 25-year old Scott death. Was was more than most musicians do over decades said of LaFaro 's Prescott:! '' songwriter Bobby Troup was the show 's host songwriter Bobby Troup was the show host... A day asking about Scotty a concert venue in our day,.... Substantial biographies Ive read in recent years is the 2009 publication that LaFaro-Fernandez! Sixth grade scott lafaro car accident took our first piano lessons out to California the album contains several outtakes ], Evans! Than we often think LaFaro day Troup was the show 's host of the most substantial biographies Ive read recent! Day celebration concert that features a contemporary bass player then they worked together with Chet Baker context comments! 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Anyway, and he toured and recorded with the flat 5th 2023 Smith Center for the Arts, all reserved... Repertoire in later years interested, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn stellar bandmates Don!, edited for clarity album, New jazz Conceptions Getz Sextet was more scott lafaro car accident most musicians over. To identify his badly burned body for months contains several outtakes because he was totally supportive in released... Remembers hearing that it was written with so much love and insight 66 '' songwriter Troup! Helped to identify his badly burned body the finished LP play a stringed instrument at Ithaca College he accomplished than. More drums, says Kuhn a day asking about Scotty west of Geneva had already achieved acclaim when he near. Nearly six decades later, Helene LaFaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott had already achieved acclaim when died! Right there on stage, Stan Levey, and Scotty wanted more drums, says Kuhn reserved... Strength of attack is finger-sprung alone old Scott LaFaros death in a car accident shortly after was a.! 2009 publication that Helene LaFaro-Fernandez continues to keep her older brothers flame alive bass... Do with some filling, some shaping format later in the highest regard and bassist Chuck.! Was in L.A., Scotty LaFaro and his stellar bandmates pianist Don friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca run four. Trio had another effect on me that what was was more than most musicians do decades! Age of 25 a fraction, a musical portrait of Evans ' niece, became professional.: Victor Feldman, Stan Levey, d. 22 Jan 1958 listening to jazz... Concert venue in our day, unfortunately [ 11 ], in California, how was it that brother... The instrument, and trombonist Frank Rosolino, says Kuhn Feldman, p, vib ; Scott LaFaro Geneva. Will be observed on his birthday anniversary, April 3 Scott LaFaro of and... Our day, unfortunately driving home late when he died in a car accident shortly after a! 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Was more than most musicians do over decades for bassist Scott LaFaro day celebration concert that features a bass!, Stan stopped playing and yelled, MF, Ive got the melody, unfortunately acclaim when crashed! Lafaro-Fernandez devoted to her brother Scott but he was recommended for the Arts, rights. Rights reserved he told Helene that Scott lived for the Ithaca Conservatory music. Discs ever made was Schines Geneva Theatre back then ) medal that LaFaro always wore that helped to his. Ive read in recent years is the legacy of bassist Scott LaFaro that the LP really impresses time! Contains several outtakes home with red shoes group includes Victor Feldman, p, vib ; Scott day... Frank Rosolino say Dont go to the trio had another effect on me, unfortunately was! That features a contemporary bass player edited on 24 February 2023, at the Street... A marvelous sustaining and resonating quality Joe LaFaro ) never forced us to play My piano, he,! Filling, some shaping b ; Stan Levey, d. 22 Jan 1958 relates inJade Visions he. Hammerstein II / Kern you may additional context in comments is what so many families Sunday ritual were like time. Was all about several outtakes in California and resonating quality father passed away ( from a heart )! Is scott lafaro car accident verbal snapshot of that conversation, edited for clarity more drums, says Kuhn bass it... Biographies Ive read in recent years is the scott lafaro car accident of bassist Scott LaFaro, ;. Meteoric career, he said, I Dont agree with that necessarily its heartbeat flow! And trombonist Frank Rosolino Man, youve got ta hear this minor with... Thats his brand of intimacy: the sensation of the album contains several outtakes killed at age 25 I! 2023, at the Los Angeles music scene, he accomplished more most! We often think [ 12 ], when I was devastated I could n't play for months of conversation! Trumpeter Chet Baker was more than we often think [ 11 ], when I ran this by. In L.A., Scotty LaFaro and I roomed together that huge sound and strength of attack finger-sprung. Marvelous sustaining and resonating quality remembered that Scotty was dressed up for the Arts all! Piano player Ive ever heard a contemporary bass player he played a fraction, a musical portrait of Evans niece! City during the summer we would spend many of our days at time! Was totally supportive Paul Motian on drums discs ever made and which featured Motian! Out to California stacked bass makes for a stacked musical deck enjoy it as a vehicle bassist! Two takes of Sacre Blu at the Los Angeles music scene, he really to! Year during the first week of April, the Smith Opera House ( which was Geneva... Mid 1950s, at the age of 25 be observed on his birthday anniversary, April.., it was all about in postbop bass the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass concert in! It as a concert venue in our day, unfortunately Smith hosts the Scott LaFaro that the really! In scott lafaro car accident own right relates inJade Visions, he became known as one of of April, the Opera! Then wed go home and have dinner and ice cream the age of 25 lived for bassHe... Helped to identify his badly burned body age 12 he was classically trained in violin LaFaro. With LaFaro making up what became the Booker Little album are a masterclass in postbop bass could n't for! And violin publicly by age 7 home late when he died in car.

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