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Scott LaFaro Discography: 1990--1999


This is the third of four (3 of 4) sections devoted to re-issued recordings.


Table of Contents

 1990  Cal Tjader Stan Getz Sextet  [CD]
 1992  For Real  Hampton Hawes [CD]
 1992  Moanin'  Marty Paich [CD]
 1993  The Artistry of Stan Getz  [CD]
 1993  Beauty Is A Rare Thing  Ornette Coleman [6-CD set]
 1994  Rare Live  Stan Getz [CD] alt title:  Tune Up
 1995?  The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro  [CD} Giants of Jazz compilation
 1995  Bill Evans . . . Autumn Leaves  [CD] Giants of Jazz compilation
 1995  Cal Tjader's Greatest Hits  [CD]
 1995  On Green Dolphin Street  Bill Evans [CD]
 1996  Art Pepper . . . Straight Life  [CD] Giants of Jazz compilation
 1996  Bill Evans . . . Waltz For Debby  [CD] Giants of Jazz compilation
 1996  Booker Little  [CD]
 1996?  Free Jazz  Ornette Coleman [CD]
 1996  Ornette Coleman . . . Harlem's Manhattan  [CD] Giants of Jazz compilation
 1998  The Arrival of Victor Feldman  [CD]
 1998  Blues The Most  Hampton Hawes [CD]
 1999  Jazz Abstractions  John Lewis [CD]
 1999  Ornette!   Ornette Coleman [CD] 
     
 1999  Bill Evans & Scott LaFaro ... Vanguard '61  [CD] -- Bogus E.A.R product

 


 

Cal Tjader Stan Getz Sextet. [Compact Disc] Berkeley CA: Fantasy Records, 1990. Original Jazz Classics series OJCCD-275-2 (F-3266). Barcode 25218-0275-2. Originally released as Fantasy 3266 (sound disc (42 min.) : analog, 33 1/3 rpm ; 12 in.). “Recorded in San Francisco, February 1963” [sic, in rect�, 8 Feb 1958] Program notes by Ralph Gleason. Digital remastering, 1990, by Phil De Lancie.

Performers:

Program:

Excerpts from program notes: “Getz's group at the Black Hawk featured two young players who were totally unknown then: bassist Scotty LaFaro and drummer Billy Higgins. But they gassed Tjader as they had gassed everyone who heard them in the club. And it was decided to use them on [this recording date] . . . Billy Higgins and Scott LaFaro read the charts for the original tunes as though they had written them themselves.

I'd like to draw particular attention to the way in which LaFaro plays bass behind Getz on `For All We Know,' . . . and for the fine bass solos on `Crow's Nest.'

LaFaro is from Geneva, NY, has worked with Buddy Morrow and Buddy DeFranco and has been playing for four years. Higgins is a painter as well as a musician and LaFaro says he's too busy for hobbies. He's catching up on Bird recordings, he adds.

Note: “The cover of this compact disc differs from that used for the LP/cassette version. The CD utilizes the original cover art which could not be located at the time of the LP/cassette reissue.”

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For Real! [Hampton Hawes] [Compact Disc] Berkeley CA: Contemporary Records, distribute by Fantasy Records, 1992. Contemporary OJCCD-713-2 (S-7589). 1 sound disc : analog to digital ; 4 and 3.4 in. “Recorded March 17, 1958 at Contemporary Records in Los Angeles. Sound by Roy DuNann. Produced by Lester Koenig.” Program notes by Leonard Feather, dated July 8, 1961. Cover photo of Hawes by Stan Levey. Photograph of LaFaro by Roger Marshutz.

Performers:

Program:

Program notes reproduced from original liner notes (see above for LP entry

Note: OCLC.#28 143 318 DPL 19930521 (OJCCD 713 2)

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Moanin' Marty Paich Big Band. [Compact Disc] Santa Monica, CA: Discovery Records, 1989 and 1992. Discovery DSCD-962. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 and 3/4 in. Previously issued by Warner Brothers Records. Recorded on various dates in 1959 in Los Angeles. Producer, Albert Marx. CD has 17 tracks with LaFaro on tracks 9 through 17. Original Warner release codes: WB 1296, WBE-WEP 6032, WSE 3032. WB-1296 represents LP, The Broadway Bit. Original album included `Surrey With The Fringe On Top'.

Performers:

Program (tracks on which LaFaro performs):

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The Artistry of Stan Getz: The Best of the Verve Years, Volume 2. [Compact Disc] New York: Verve Records, A Division of Polygram Classics and Jazz, a division of Polygram Records, Inc., 1993. 2 sound discs : digital ; 4 and 3/4 in. Includes unpaged booklet .

“A comprehensive retrospective of Stan Getz's Verve recordings from 1952-1971” (rear insert to CD's jewel case)

“Compilation supervised by Michael Lang; compiled and sequenced by Bob Blumenthal; tape research, restoration, and remastering by Phil Schaap; digital master by Tom “Curly” Ruff and Suha Gur; notes edited by Peter Pullman; additional production assistance by Cliff Preiss; art direction by Isabelle Wong; design by Christina Lage; photographs by Herman Leonard.” (program booklet, inside rear cover)

Program:

Performers:

Excerpt from the program booklet:

“When Getz returned to America early in 1961, he began a practice that would mark the remainder of his career – the assembling of exceptional working bands, often drawing upon the brightest young talent. No European rhythm section of the time could match the fire provided by Steve Kuhn, Scott LaFaro, and Pete La Roca on `Airegin'; and Getz relishes their energy in a solo that begins (like that on the original Miles Davis recording of the Sonny Rollins tune) with the piano laying out. This is the only studio documentation of Getz with the phenomenal LaFaro, who continued working with the tenor man as well as with Bill Evans and Ornette Coleman until his tragic death less that five months later." (Bob Blumenthal, September 1992)

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Beauty Is A Rare Thing. Ornette Coleman. The Complete Atlantic Recordings. [Compact Disc Boxed Set] Los Angeles CA: Rhino Records, 1993. Rhino R2-71410. 6 sound discs : digital ; 4 and 3/4 in. Recorded 1959-1961. Program notes (booklet, 68 p. : facsims. ; ports.) inserted in container. (Atlantic jazz gallery [series]) Compilation by Yves Beauvais. Digitally remastered from the original stereo master tapes by Stephen Innocenzi, Atlantic Studios, New York NY, April and May 1993.

Booklet (p. [9]) has Ray Avery photo of Scott LaFaro, Ed Blackwell, and Ornette Coleman, at The Monterey Jazz Festival, 1960.

Note: OCLC Record #30 599 618 AMH 19940613

Scott LaFaro performs on discs four through six:

Disc 4 (Wednesday, December 21, 1960; New York NY)

Performers (left channel)

Performers (right channel)

Disc 5 (Tuesday, January 31, 1961, New York NY)

Performers:

Program:

Disc 6 (Monday, December 19, 1960, New York NY)

Performers:

Program:

(Tuesday, December 20, 1960, New York)

Performers:

Program:

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Rare Live. Stan Getz and Miles Davis. [Compact Disc] Tokyo: Venus Records, Inc., 1994; License from Stash Records through Art Union Corp. TKCZ-79046.  1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Seven tracks, 48:50. Tracks 1- 4 recorded 12 November 1956 in West Germany; tracks 5 - 7 recorded Sunday 2 July 1961 at the Newport [Rhode Island] Jazz Festival. 

Performers:

Tracks # 1 and 2:

  • Miles Davis, trumpet -- tracks #1-2
  • Lester Young, tenor saxophone
  • John Lewis, piano
  • Milt Jackson, vibraphone
  • Percy Heath. bass
  • Connie Kay, drums
  • Kurt Edelhagen Big Band (track #2)

Tracks # 3 and 4:

  • Miles Davis, trumpet
  • Rene Urtege [sic, in rect� Utreger], piano
  • Pierre Michelot, bass
  • Christian Garros, drums

Tracks # 5 through 7:

  • Stan Getz, tenor saxophone
  • Steve Kuhn, piano
  • Scott LaFaro, bass
  • Roy Haynes, drums

Program:

  • [1] How High The Moon (Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis, 1940) 8:07
  • [2] Lester Leaps In  (L. Young, 1939)  9:10
  • [3] Tune Up  (M. Davis, n.d.)  2:50
  • [4] What's New  (Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke, 1939)  3:36
  • [5] Baubles, Bangles, and Beads (Robert Wright, George Forrest, 1953)   8:17
  • [6] Where Do You Go? (Alec Wilder, n.d.)   8:14
  • [7] Airegin (Stan Getz [?Sonny Rollins])  8:26

This recording (LaFaro's last) is the same (except for the title) as Tune Up [1992 CD].

May have been released also under other labels: Unique Jazz UJ-14, Century CEJC 00108 and CECC 00108 [=CECC 00099].

In one case may have been released under the title The Stan Getz Quartet at Newport by Raretone (Italy) 5010-FC.  (Tom Lord, The Jazz Discography, vol. 7, p. G154, entry #G1253 (1993))

Program notes by Kazutomi Aoki are in Japanese. This excerpt translated into English by Masako Sho Winkler, pertains to the Getz quartet performance:

“Another private recording is that of the Stan Getz Quartet at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1961. It is great in a different way from the Miles Davis recording described in the previous paragraphs. The focus here is not on Stan Getz. His performance is of course splendid, but jazz aficionados will be drawn to a person behind Getz in terms of valuable performances.”

“That person, without question, is bassist Scott LaFaro. There are many fans of this bassist who died young, and to them this recording is of permanent value. This talented white bassist who appeared in the late 50's played with Bill Evans, Booker Little, Ornette Coleman, and others. His epoch-making performance, particularly the ones with Bill Evans, will never be forgotten. However, he passed away suddenly. According to the biography, he died in a traffic accident in Geneva, New York, on July 6, 1961.”

�This recording appeared to have been made in early July 1961. After this performance, LaFaro drove to Geneva, his home town, and disappeared forever. His performance is truly amazing. His lyrical performance with Bill Evans is famous, but the power of the rhythm in this performance is further evidence of LaFaro as a gifted bassist. According to the few words he left behind, he was more attracted to this style of playing than to the one he exhibited when playing with Evans. I genuinely wish the quality of the recording were better.�

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Front                                                Rear

The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro. Featuring Bill Evans, Paul Motian, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Eric Dolphy, Eddie Costa, Jim Hall, George Duvivier, Jimmy Giuffre, Freddie Hubbard, Gunther Schuller, Victor Feldman, Charlie Haden, Marty Paich, Art Pepper, Mel Lewis.  [?Place : distributed by SAAR srl, Manufactured in EEC, produced by Sarabandas srl, 1995?  CD 53213 AAD (Giants of Jazz) 
1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Total Playing Time 74:05.

Program:

  1. Too Close For Comfort (Bock-Weiss)        

  2. I've Never Been in Love Before (Loesser)       

  3. Time Remembered (Evans)

  4. Jade Visions -- "Take One" (LaFaro)

  5. Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss Cross) (Monk)

  6. C. & D. (Coleman)

  7. First Take (Coleman)

  8. The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro (Coleman)

Performers:  This CD a compilation of tracks from the following recordings:

Track 3 'Time Remembered' -- program notes refer to "Live 'Birdland' New York City, 1960"  This is incorrect.  The Legendary Bill Evans Trio: The 1960 Birdland Sessions (CD) is a compilation of radio broadcasts from Birdland, but does not include 'Time Remembered'.  The 'Time Remembered' here is from another Evans recording with Eddie Gomez which I have to track down.

Note:  I include this compilation in this Discography because this is the only release I am aware of with "Scott LaFaro" in its title, making it the first recording issued (if no  longer available) under his own name.

As is the case with the other re-issues in the Giants of Jazz series, the information provided in the 2-page program insert is often inaccurate, to wit:

"1956/57 -- . . . [LaFaro] Finds the time to found his own trio with which he makes a record in his name, already demonstrating his outstanding performing skills." 

Note: To my knowledge LaFaro never made a recording under his own name.  He did organize his own trio when he was in New York (?1960-61) but information on this is sketchy at best.

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Autumn Leaves.  Bill Evans in Trio with Scott LaFaro, Eddie Gomez, Chuck Israels, Sam Jones and Marty Morell, Paul Motian, Philly Joe Jones, Arnold Wise.   [?Place : distributed by SAAR srl, Manufactured in EEC, produced by Sarabandas srl, 1995.  CD 53211 AAD (Giants of Jazz)  1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Total Playing Time 66:40.

This is a compilation of 12 tracks from several different Bill Evans recordings:  Waltz For Debby, Moonbeams, The Town Hall Concert, Everybody Digs Bill Evans; from the 1960 Birdland sessions, and from a 1969 concert in Amsterdam.

CD program booklet (4-pp) consists of a chronology of Bill Evans's life and recordings with several mis-spellings and typos.  

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Cal Tjader's Greatest Hits. [Compact Disc] Berkeley, CA: Fantasy Records, 1995. Fantasy FCD-24736-2. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in. Digital remastering by Joe Tarantino. Time 78:06 with 20 tracks. Tracks 1-10 previously released as Cal Tjader's Greatest Hits, Fantasy 8366; tracks 11-20 as Cal Tjader's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (Fantasy 8374).

Program:

Performers:

Composition by Guaraldi.

Note: Original selection was entitled `Ginza' included on Cal Tjader -- Stan Getz Sextet. Fantasy 3266 (mono?). San Francisco: Fantasy [1958]. 1 sound disc (42 min) ; analog, 33 1/3 rpm ; 12 in. Recorded February 8, 1958. Program: I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face, For All We Know, Ginza, Crow's Nest, Liz Anne, Big Bear, My Buddy. See OCLC MARC record #9736444.

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On Green Dolphin Street. Bill Evans with Paul Chambers [and] Philly Joe Jones. [Compact Disc] Berkeley CA: Milestone Records, 1995. Milestone MCD-9235-2. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in. Produced by Orrin Keepnews. Digitally remastered 1995 by Phil De Lancie, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley). Cover photo by K. Abe. Time: 44:05; 7 tracks.

Performers (tracks 1 through 6):

Performers (track 7):

Program:

Note: Tracks 1 through 6 previously released on the LP album `Peace Piece' and Other Pieces (Milestone 47024). Tracks originally recorded in New York at Reeves Sound Studios, January 19, 1959.

Note: Track 7 released as part [disc 5, track 5] of the 12-CD boxed set, Bill Evans: The Complete Riverside Recordings (12RCD-018-2). Recorded in New York at the Village Vanguard, June 25, 1961.

Note: Compare Track 7, `All of You (take 1)' with the other two takes of this song on Bill Evans Trio / Sunday at the Village Vanguard above.

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Art Pepper . . . Straight Life  Art pepper featuring Red Norvo . . . Scott LaFaro . . . [and others]  [?Place : Produced by Promo Sound AG]  CD 53241 AAD   (Giants of Jazz)  1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Total Playing Time 74:20. Includes tri-fold program booklet.

Performers:

Program: (tracks on which LaFaro performs)

This is a compilation of 15 tracks from six recording sessions, 1957 through 1959, at Los Angeles and Hollywood CA.  LaFaro is on two tracks recorded and issued originally as the Marty Paich LP The Broadway Bit and re-released as the Marty Paich CD Moanin'  .  

CD program booklet (4-pp) consists of a chronology of Art Pepper's life and recordings with mis-spellings and typos.

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Bill Evans . . . Waltz For Debby   Bill Evans Trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian --  Waltz For Debby -- Village Vanguard 1961.   [?Place : Produced by Promo Sound AG]  CD 53207 AAD (Giants of Jazz)  1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Total Playing Time 66:40.

This is a compilation of 11 tracks from Bill Evans recordings of 25 June 1961 released as Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debby. 

CD program booklet (4-pp) consists of a chronology of Bill Evans's life and recordings with several mis-spellings and typos. 

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Booker Little. [CD] Van Nuys CA: Bainbridge Entertainment Co., Inc., 1980 [copyright date; 1996?] Bainbridge BCD-1041. Re-release of Time #2011. (Time Jazz Series) 1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in.

Performers:

Program: (all composed by Little except for Alec Wilder's `Who Can I Turn To')

From program notes on the original Time release:

“Also worth attention is the brilliant bass work of Scott LaFaro. The 24-year-old bassist has worked with Chet Baker, Ira Sullivan, The Lighthouse All-Stars, Barney Kessel, and more recently, with Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. A strikingly original soloist, Scott, according to Booker, `is technically, I feel, about the greatest bassist we have and he's still developing. In addition, he does so much more than just accompany.

As I mentioned, some of this material is difficult harmonically, but he had no problems. I just gave him the chords. While any competent bass player can play the roots, Scotty interprets. He's much more of a conversationalist behind you than any other bassist I know.'

In `Bee Tee's Minor Plea,' . . . LaFaro takes a stunningly original solo. `Usually,' says Booker, `the bass is a crude and rude instrument, but Scott makes it into something else.' [and in] `Life's A Little Blue,' . . . Scott's soliloquy is, like all his work, intense and powerful.”

Note: Original Time vinyl release has control number “S/2011”, recorded April 13, 15, 1960. Irving Joseph, producer. Cover photo of Little by Don Schlitton. Program notes “edited from Nat Hentoff's original liner notes.”

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The Arrival of Victor Feldman  [CD]  Los Angeles, CA: Contemporary Records, 1998. Contemporary OJCCC-268-2(S-7549) 1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 3 and 3/4 in. Total time 42:10.   �Recorded at Contemporary Records' studio, Los Angeles, January 21 & 22, 1958.  Produced by Lester Koenig.  Recording engineers:  Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer. Remastering, 1998 [by] Joe Tarantino, Fantasy studios, Berkeley, CA. Program brochure's cover photograph by Stan Levey.

Performers:

Program:

  1. Serpent's Tooth  (Miles Davis)

  2. Waltz  (Fr�d�ric Chopin)

  3. Chasing Shadows  (V. Feldman)

  4. Flamingo (Grouya--Anderson)

  5. S'posin  (Denniker--Razaf)

  6. Bebop  (Dizzy Gillespie)

  7. (There is No) Greater Love  (Jones--Symes)

  8. Too Blue  (V. Feldman)

  9. Minor Lament  (V. Feldman)

  10. Satin Doll  (Ellington--Strayhorn)

Excerpts from original program liner notes by Nat Hentoff:

�It was shortly after he [Feldman] began at the Lighthouse that Victor, Scott LaFaro and Stan Levey started playing together, first at the club and then `we felt so good together we played on our own.' . . 

Bassist Scott LaFaro, who makes his first full-scale recording debut on this album, is in the estimation of this fearer of hyperbole, the most important `new' bassist since Paul Chambers and Wilbur Ware.

Rocco Scott LaFaro was born in Newark, April 3, 1936. His father was a violinist who had played around New York, mostly with dance bands. Scott grew up in Geneva, New York, a town between Rochester and Syracuse, where he attended high school followed by a year at Ithaca Conservatory. He had studied clarinet at 14 and eventually tenor on which he gigged around Geneva.

His clarinet playing was in the classical idiom, and he majored on the instrument during his year at the conservatory. He left school in the spring of 1955, and decided to concentrate on the bass which he'd picked up the summer he'd been graduated from high school. He's never since played clarinet or tenor.

Scott had had half a dozen lessons as a bass minor at Ithaca, but otherwise he's entirely self-instructed on the instrument. He became a professional in the summer of 1955, working in rhythm and blues bands -- and a few jazz gigs -- in Syracuse and Rochester. That fall he joined Buddy Morrow, being hired without an audition, and remained until the fall of 1956.

Scott joined Chet Baker a few weeks later, and stayed with him until May 1957 when he came to Los Angeles. For some five months, Scott spent most of his time practicing in semi-seclusion. `I couldn't find enough work, [says LaFaro] and besides, I definitely needed the practice.'

In December, 1957, Scott went to Chicago and worked a few weeks with Pat Moran and Ira Sullivan. Since then, he has been back in Los Angeles, playing occasionally at the Lighthouse, and most recently with Barney Kessel's new quartet.

Vic Feldman first heard Scott in New York in the spring of 1957 with Chet Baker. He was instantly impressed. That July, when Vic came to Los Angeles, he had a chance to play with Scott. They worked a few dates together for Buddy DeFranco. The musical respect between the two is firm and reciprocal. `I think,' says Scott, `that Vic is the most inventive vibist since Milt Jackson and he can play piano and drums very expressively too.'

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Free Jazz  A Collective Improvisation by the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet. [Compact Disc] [New York: Atlantic Recording Company, 1960] [copyright date; 1996?] Atlantic 1364-2. 1 sound disc : analog to digital ; 4 and 3/4 in. Recorded December 21, 1960. Program notes, Martin Williams; Recording Engineer, Tom Dowd; Supervision, Nesuhi Ertegun.

Performers:

Program:

Note: OCLC Record # TBD

Note: Liner notes from Atlantic SD1364, the original 1961 LP release, Free Jazz.

Note: Unlike the LP version of 'Free Jazz' in two parts, “there is no fade-out where Don Cherry's solo begins and the performance is uninterrupted.”

Note: In stereo playback --

Left speaker: Coleman, Cherry, LaFaro, and Higgins

Right speaker: Dolphy, Hubbard, Haden, and Blackwell

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Harlem's Manhattan  Ornette Coleman with Don Cherry Scott LaFaro Jimmy Garrison Ed Blackwell 1961.  [?Place : Produced by Promo Sound AG, 1996]  CD 53225 AAD (Giants of Jazz)  1 sound disc : analog to digital, stereo ; 4 and 3/4 in. Total Playing Time 72:43.

This is a compilation of 7 tracks from Ornette Coleman recordings Ornette! and Ornette on Tenor

CD program booklet (8-pp) consists of chronologies of all performers with several mis-spellings and typos. 

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Blues The Most  [Compact Disc] Berkeley CA: Prestige Records, 1998.   PRCD-11015-2. Distributed by Fantasy Records, Berkeley, CA. 1 sound disc : analog to digital ; 4 and 3 / 4 in. Stereo/AAD (tracks #1, #4, #8 are monophonic) "Original Recordings produced by Lester Koenig ( [Track] #6 by Lester Koenig and John Koenig) and recorded at Contemporary's studio, Los Angeles"  This compilation produced by Eric Miller. Remastering, 1998 -- Kirk Felton (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley)  Duration 74:58. Art direction, design -- Jamie Putnam.  Liner notes  by David Prince, 1998. All selections written by Hampton Hawes, except #5 (Charlie Parker).

Performers (alphabetically listed after Hawes) :

Program (by track number):

"'Hip'  . . .  is the first of two selections from the fine and under appreciated For Real!, a date from March 1956 [sic, in rect�, 1958] that teamed Hawes with Harold Land on tenor, Frank Butler on drums, and the tragically short-lived Scott LaFaro on bass.  Here, Hamp is in a hyped up, nervous mood, comping away obsessively yet unobtrusively behind the others' solos.  . . .   LaFaro's solo foreshadows the work he would soon be doing with Ornette Coleman."

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A Meeting of the Times [and] Ornette!   Rahsaan Roland Kirk & Al Hibbler / A Meeting of the Times [and] The Ornette Coleman Quartet / Ornette!  Narberth PA:  Collectables Records, Distributor, 1999. Col-CD-6266 ((Collectables Jazz Classics)  1 sound disc : analog to digital ; 4 and 3/4 in.  Total time: 75:56.  Produced under license from Atlantic Recording Corp.  Manufactured by Rhino Entertainment Company, 1999. 

This CD is a re-issue compilation of two LP recordings: the first by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, A Meeting of the Times, a 1972 release, Atlantic 1630; the second, by Ornette Coleman, Ornette!, a 1961 release, Atlantic 1378.  

Performers on Ornette!:

Program: (all compositions by Ornette Coleman)

Note:  This CD provides another example of Scott LaFaro's interesting work with Ornette Coleman, the first being Coleman's double quartet recording, Free Jazz. Although all of LaFaro's work with Coleman has been released in the six-CD boxed set, Beauty Is A Rare Thing, this inexpensive edition allows one ready access to one of Scott's finest contributions (on C. & D.) to the art of arco solo playing.

Note also the juxtaposition of these two recordings in terms of the history of jazz.  Vocalist Al Hibbler sings in the Billy Eckstein tradition, in front of Roland Kirk's 'big band' quartet sound, generated by Kirk, tenor and baritone saxes, manzello, stritch, flute and clarinet; Hank Jones, piano; Ron Carter, bass; and Oliver Jackson, drums. After 8 tracks of Ellington ('Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, I Didn't Know About You) and other great composers (Oscar Hammerstein, Ferde Grofe) one is abruptly confronted with Coleman's ' W.R.U.' .  The sound of surprise, indeed! 

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Golden Striker /Jazz Abstractions   At head of title is 'John Lewis'.  [Compact Disc]  Narberth, PA:  Collectables Records, 1999.  COL-CD-6252  (Collectables Jazz Classics)  Produced by Atlantic Recording Corporation.  Manufactured by Rhino Entertainment Company. 1 sound disc : analog to digital ; 4 and 3 / 4 in.  Total time 71:33. 

This CD is a re-issue compilation of two LP recordings by pianist-composer-leader John Lewis: Golden Striker, a 1960 release, Atlantic 1334; and Jazz Abstractions, a 1961 release, Atlantic 1365. 

Liner notes are taken from the original LP albums.

Jazz Abstractions was originally recorded 19 and 20 December 1960 in New York. Program notes are by Gunther Schuller.  Engineer, Phil Ramone; supervision, John Lewis and Nesuhi Ertegun.

Performers:

'Abstraction'

`Piece For Guitar & Strings'

`Variants ...(Django)'

`Variants ...(Criss-Cross)'

Program [Tracks 11 through 19 for Jazz Abstractions]:

Excerpts from Gunther Schuller's program notes:

[Sidebar entry] “This album is dedicated to the memory of Scott LaFaro, who was killed in an automobile accident a few months after performing on these record dates. Great though his talent was, Scotty, like all true artists, had an awareness of how much was yet to be accomplished.”

“The music on this record, with the exception of Jim Hall's composition, was created specifically for a concert of this writer's works May 1960 in the `Jazz Profiles' series organized by Charles Schwartz and housed at the time in the Circle In The Square in New York. The musicians performing in the concert were, with one or two exceptions, the same as appear on this record”

[On `Django' -- Variant I] “The late Scott LaFaro solos almost continuously throughout the first variant against Duvivier's walking bass, while Jim Hall weaves in and around LaFaro. (Since the latter was a very `fast' player and fond of the high register, the traditional position of these two instruments is often reversed.)”

[On `Criss-Cross' -- Variant II] “Everything is sustained, suspended and timeless, with occasional partially suppressed interjections by Ornette and Scotty.”

[On `Criss-Cross' -- Variant III] “[A]side from a few comments by guitar and string quartet, belongs exclusively to Messrs. Dolphy, LaFaro, and Evans (Sticks, that is).”

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ADDENDUM

Bill Evans & Scott LaFaro:  Live at the Village Vanguard 1961.  Brooklyn, NY:  E.A.R. Records, Inc., 1999.  "Never Before Released Recordings from Private Stock!" ("front" 'insert card). Produced by Dancing bear Productions for E.A.R. Records Inc., PO Box 239 Broklyn [sic] Heights Station, Bklyn., N.Y.  11201.  Limited Permision [copyright symbol] Copyright 1999 Evans Music ASCAP [copyright symbol] copyright 1999 Hyperbaric Music BMI. ("rear" insert card)

Performers:

Program:

This CD is bogus.  John Sanna made me aware of this compilation in 2001.  This CD was advertised on the Internet at URL < www.earrecords.com > along with some other EAR productions which may be bogus also.  The CD's tracks were made from less than adequate recording equipment (one can hear the stylus drop onto the vinyl).  The objective seems to have been to make and distribute a compilation of Evans material with the claim of "never before released" to make a few bucks.

My "Ear" tells me the following about the six tracks on this CD:

  1. Waltz For Debby -- from Bill Evans New Jazz Conceptions 1956 Riverside Records

  2. Waltz For Debby (take 2) -- from Waltz For Debby 1961 Riverside Records

  3. My Romance -- from New Jazz Conceptions

  4. Alice in Wonderland (take 2) from Sunday at the Village Vanguard 1961 Riverside Records

  5. How My Heart Sings from How My Heart Sings Riverside 473 recorded May 1962 with Chuck Israels bass and Paul Motian drums

  6. My Romance (take 2) -- from Waltz For Debby

   CAVEAT EMPTOR:  DO NOT PURCHASE THIS BOOTLEG.  THERE IS NOTHING NEW HERE.

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 Bibliography -- Books A-F    Discography -- All    Acknowledgements
 Bibliography -- Books G-K  Chronology -- 1936-1949  Discography -- 1956--1957    Items Lacking
 Bibliography -- Books L-R  Chronology -- 1950-1955  Discography -- 1958  Memorial Award
 Bibliography -- Books S-Z  Chronology -- 1956-1957  Discography -- 1959  Musician Associates
 Bibliography -- Mags A-F  Chronology -- 1958  Discography -- 1960  Photography
 Bibliography -- Mags G-K  Chronology -- 1959  Discography -- 1961  Renderings
 Bibliography -- Mags L-R  Chronology -- 1960  Discography -- 1961--1979  
 Bibliography -- Mags S-Z  Chronology -- 1961  Discography -- 1980--1989  Sunday Vanguard Matrix
 Bibliography -- Miscellany  Discography -- 1990--1999
 Bibliography -- Web Sources    Discography -- 2000--  2001 ISB LaFaro Tribute

 


Copyright 1998-2003, Charles A. Ralston. All rights reserved.
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Last revised:  2005-10-04
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