Scott LaFaro: Photographs of -- 1
Many of the images included here are scanned versions of photocopies of photographs published in various periodicals and newspapers. Thus, these images are, in many cases, thrice removed from their original film medium and are fuzzy as a result. If you have an original photograph, or the original periodical containing a clearer image of Scott LaFaro, please let me know.
This original photograph of LaFaro by Ed Dephoure was taken following Scott's performance with the Stan Getz Quartet Sunday 2 July 1961 at the Newport Jazz Festival. This is the last known photograph of the bassist. Scott LaFaro died four days later in a tragic automobile accident near Geneva, NY, his home town.
The following excerpt from Ed Dephoure's 4 October 2003 e-mail message to me talks about this photograph and his experiences with jazz musicians and with Newport:
. . . I was about 20 years old [when I took this photo of LaFaro]. I went to high school with Steve Kuhn, Roger Kellaway, Dave Shrier, and Dick Sudhalter. Sudhalter wrote a biography of Bix Biederbeck. There was much musical talent in my area. Shrier opened his home to jazz sessions in his living room. Chuck Israels played in that room. Kellaway went on to write music for Archie Bunker. Sudhalter conducts the American Jazz Band in New York City. Steve Kuhn has had small groups.
The photo pit at Newport was so far below the stage that performers were almost standing on top of us. The lighting for color film was pretty good. I cannot remember as many exciting times I had with music as I had at the Newport Festival. I was present [in 1956] when Paul Gonsalves decided to play a 30-minute solo with the Ellington Band.
One Saturday afternoon, Judy Garland came out of her tent and performed. My friend and writer Dan Morgenstern and I watched this show with some amazement. Judy Garland's performance was a last minute decision on her part. George Wein who started Newport is the son of a doctor in Boston. Dave Shrier's father was a surgeon and he was a friend of Dr. Wein. . . .
From Periodicals and Newspapers
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Anon. “Annuaire Biographique de la Contrabasse,” [Paris, France] Jazz Magazine (mai 1963) pp. 22-29. LaFaro entry is at p. 26 and includes photograph. Photographer unknown.
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Anon. “A Light Gone Out,” Down Beat (August 17, 1961) p. 13. Includes photograph. |
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Anon. “La route qui tue,” Jazz Magazine 7 (septembre 1961) p. 16. Includes photograph which is the same as the first one listed above in Jazz Magazine (mai 1963). |
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Anon. “Scott LaFaro (1936-1961),” Metronome 78:9 (September 1961) p. 1. Includes photograph within the side bar In Memoriam. Photographer unknown. (This is my favorite picture of Scott) |
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Anon. “2 Die in Fiery Crash at Flint: Geneva High Grads Killed; Car Hits Tree,” Geneva [NY] Times, (July 6, 1961), p. 1. With photographs of Frank P. Ottley and Rocco S. Lafaro [sic, in rect� LaFaro]. |
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Binchet, Jean-Pierre. “Le Phare LaFaro,” Jazz Magazine 153 (avril 1968) pp. 20-23. Includes two photographs of LaFaro, one by himself; another with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell. |
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Hunt, David C. “The Musician's Musician: Cases of Seven Underrated Jazzmen,” Jazz and Pop 6 (July 1967) pp. 19, 22-24. LaFaro discussed at pp. 19,22. Photograph by Bob Parent. |
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LaFaro-Fernandez, Helene. “Scott LaFaro: A Chronological Discography” Bass World: The Journal of the International Society of Bassists, vol. XXI, no. 2 (Fall 1996), pp. 23-24. Photograph is by drummer Gene Gammage. |
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Marmande, Francis. “Rocco et Ses Freres,” Jazz Magazine 232 (avril 1975), pp. [26]-29. Includes photograph. Discussion of LaFaro, Charlie Haden, Charles Mingus, Monk Montgomery, David Holland, Eberhard Weber, Stanley Clarke, Barre Phillips, Harry Miller, Maarten Van Regteren Altenat. Photograph by William Claxton. |
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NOTE: The Jim Marshall photo is thumbnail in size and does not scan well. Image (left to right) represents LaFaro standing with his bass, left hand in its upper register, right hand's fingers open as if playing multiple stops. In the background to the right is a bentwood chair on which is a trumpet (or flugelhorn) with its bell on the seat of the chair. Pekar, Harvey. “The Development of Modern Bass,” Down Beat (October 11, 1962) pp. 19-21. Photograph by Jim Marshall. LaFaro and Charlie Haden compared and contrasted mainly at pp. 20-21. |
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Williams, Martin, “Introducing Scott LaFaro,” Jazz Review 3 (August 1960) pp. 16-17. Full-page photograph of LaFaro by Gerry Schatzberg. |
