Scott LaFaro - The Legendary Scott Lafaro '1978

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Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936 – July 6, 1961) was an influential American
jazz double bassist, perhaps best known for his seminal work with the Bill Evans
Trio.

Born in Irvington, New Jersey, Rocco Scott LaFaro grew up in a musical family
(his father played in many big bands). His family moved to his parents hometown
of Geneva, New York when Scott was five years old. He started on piano while in
elementary school, began on the bass clarinet in junior high school, changing to
tenor saxophone when he entered high school. He took up the double bass at 18,
in the summer before he entered college, when he learned a string instrument was
required for music education majors. About three months into his studies at
Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, LaFaro decided to concentrate on bass. He
often played in groups at the College Spa and Joes Restaurant on State Street in
downtown Ithaca.
He entered college to study music but left during the early weeks of his
sophomore year, when he joined Buddy Morrow and his big band. He left that
organization in Los Angeles after a cross-country tour and decided to try his
luck in the Los Angeles music scene. There, he quickly found work and became
known as one of the best of the young bassists. In 1959, after many gigs with
such luminaries as Chet Baker, Victor Feldman, Stan Kenton, Cal Tjader, and
Benny Goodman, LaFaro joined Bill Evans, who had recently left the Miles Davis
Sextet. It was with Evans and drummer Paul Motian that LaFaro developed and
expanded the counter-melodic style that would come to characterize his playing.
LaFaro replaced Charlie Haden as Ornette Colemans bassist in January, 1961.
LaFaro played a double bass made in 1825 in Concord, New Hampshire by Abraham
Prescott. 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. It has rolled corners on the
bottom and very sloped shoulders on the top, making it easier to get in and out
of thumb position.
In 2009, the University of North Texas Press published Jade Visions, a biography
of LaFaro by his sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez. It includes an extensive
discography of his recorded work.
In 2009, Resonance Records released Pieces of Jade, the first album released
featuring LaFaro as a bandleader. The album includes five selections recorded in
New York City during 1961 that showcase LaFaro with pianist Don Friedman and
drummer Pete LaRoca, as well as 22 minutes of LaFaro and Bill Evans practicing
My Foolish Heart in late 1960 during a rehearsal.

LaFaro died in an automobile accident in the summer of 1961 in Flint, New York
on U.S. Route 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua, two days after accompanying
Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival. His death came just ten days after
recording two live albums with the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village
Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, albums considered among the finest live jazz
recordings.
LaFaros death took an enormous emotional toll on Bill Evans, who was, according
to drummer Paul Motian, numb with grief, in a state of shock, and like a ghost
after LaFaros death. 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. Evans also went on hiatus after LaFaros death for a period of
several months. 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.

Although his performing career lasted only six years, LaFaros innovative
approach to the bass redefined jazz playing, bringing an emancipation
introducing so many diverse possibilities as would have been thought impossible
for the bass only a short time before, and inspiring a generation of bassists
who followed him.

Tracklist:
01. Scott LaFaro - Making Whoopee (5:26)
02. Scott LaFaro - In Your Own Sweet Way (5:03)
03. Scott LaFaro - Onilisor (4:12)
04. Scott LaFaro - Come Rain or Shine (5:38)
05. Scott LaFaro - Blackeyed Peas (3:30)
06. Scott LaFaro - I Could Have Danced All Night (3:30)
07. Scott LaFaro - Yesterdays (4:31)
08. Scott LaFaro - Blues (4:06)

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