| Scott LaFaro | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rocco Scott LaFaro |
| Born | April 3, 1936 Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | July 6, 1961 (aged 25) |
| Genres | Jazz, bebop, cool jazz, modal |
| Occupations | Double bassist |
| Instruments | Double bass |
| Associated acts | Bill Evans Chet Baker Victor Feldman Stan Kenton Stan Getz |
Rocco Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936 – July 6, 1961) was an influential jazz bassist, perhaps best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio.
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Born in Irvington, New Jersey, LaFaro grew up in a musical family (his father played in many big bands). His family moved to parent's 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.[1] He only took up the double bass at 18,[2] 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, NY, LaFaro decided to concentrate on bass. He often played in groups at the College Spa and Joe's Restaurant [3] 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.[4] 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,[5] 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 Coleman's 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.[6]
In 2009, University of North Texas Press published "Jade Visions", a biography about Scott by his sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez. It includes an extensive discography of Scott's 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 a 22-minute practice tape of LaFaro and Bill Evans rehearsing "My Foolish Heart" in late 1960.
LaFaro died in an automobile accident in the summer of 1961 in Flint, New York on U.S. 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua,[7] 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.[8]
Although he performed for only six years (1955–1961), LaFaro's 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",[9] and inspired a generation of bassists who followed him.
With Ornette Coleman
With Bill Evans