Scott LaFaro: Chronology 1961
(Ornette Coleman   Stan Getz   Don Friedman   Bill Evans)

Date

Place

Event

1961 (aet. 25)

Tue 17 Jan
thru
Sun 29 Jan

"The Ornette Coleman Quartet returned to the Village Vanguard yesterday (Tues.)" (Variety, Wednesday, 18 Jan 1961, p. 56)

(New York Times, Tuesday, 17 January 1961, p. 42)

"This Greenwich village cellar continues its modern jazz policy with the return of Nina Simone . . . and Ornette Coleman, who [has] split the jazz buff ranks into distinct camps of dig and don't dig with his atonal plastic alto sax. . . . Besides Coleman, there's Don Cherry on trumpet; Eddie Blackwell, drums, and Scott LaFaro, bass." (Variety, Wednesday 25 January 1961, p. 54)
 

 Sat 21 Jan

Although LaFaro currently is a member of the Ornette Coleman Quartet in performance at the Village Vanguard (see entry above), he may have had leave to play a 'one-nighter' at the Village Gate. 
 

(New York Times, Sat 21 Jan 61, p 17)

"Thelonious Monk's group was featured at the second Jazz Profiles concert at the Museum of Modern Art [Sat] Feb. 23. Dave Brubeck will appear in the series in May . . . Charlie Graziano, now with Shaw Artists in Chicago, sold the Cork 'N Bib in Westbury, [Long Island] NY to John Leone. The new owner plans to keep up the weekend jazz policy. Slide Hampton, Bill Evans, Horace Silver, and Buddy Rich have played recent Friday and Saturday dates at the spot." (Down Beat, 'Ad Lib' 16 Mar 61 p 38)

 Tue 31 Jan

 Thu 02 Feb

Wed 15 Feb thru
Sun 26 Feb

"Stan Getz unveiled a promising new group at the Sutherland [Lounge in the Sutherland Hotel] in his first State-side engagement in more than two years. Included in the group were Pete LaRoca, drums; Steve Kuhn, piano; Scot (sic) LaFaro, bass. . . . Getz was impressed with the musicianship of his young crew and plans to record with them.
While the ace tenor saxophonist was in the Windy City, he was to finish an album with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet's rhythm section:  Louis Hayes, drums; Sam Jones, bass; Victor Feldman, piano.  Recording of the album began in Berlin, Germany, when the Adderley group was touring Europe, but they were unable to complete it then.  The Chicago session fell through too.
The first recording session for Getz since his return to this country two months ago was held in New York City with Bob Brookmeyer, trombone; Bill Evans, piano; Percy Heath, bass; Connie Kay, drums. The first recording session for Getz since his return to [the USA] two months ago was held in New York City with Bob Brookmeyer, trombone; Bill Evans, piano; Percy Heath, bass; Connie Kay, drums. . . . John Coltrane followed Getz [into the Sutherland]. After 'Trane came the Bill Evans Trio. . . ."
Down Beat 28:07 (March 30, 1961) pp. 64-65.

(Chicago Sun-Times, Thu 16 Feb 61, Sec Two, p 22)
(ditto, Fri 17 Feb 61, Sec Two, p 9 ; Wed 22 Feb, Sec Two, p 10)

(Chicago Daily News, Wed 15 Feb 61, p 51)
(ditto, 17 Feb 61, p 8 ; 18 Feb 61, p 24)
  

 Tue 21 Feb

 ??? ?? Feb

Mon 27 Feb
thru
Sat 04 Mar

The Bill Evans Trio followed the [Ruby] Braff - [Marshall] Brown Sextet at the Town [tavern] on Feb. 27

(Down Beat 'Ad Lib' 13 Apr 61 p 47)
 

Tue 07
thru
Sun 12 Mar

(Detroit Free Press, Tue 7 Mar 61 p 28)
(ditto, Wed 8 Mar p 15 ; Sat 11 Mar p 12)

"The Bill Evans Trio closes at the Minor Key after Sunday night [12 Mar]. They play until dawn Friday and Saturday." (Detroit Free Press, 'After Dark' Fri 10 Mar 61 p 52)

Note: The Stan Getz Quartet (with Roy Haynes, Steve Kuhn, Jimmy Garrison) was at the Showboat Lounge [in the Douglas Hotel, Broad and Lombard streets], Philadelphia, 6-11 March 1961 (Down Beat, 27 Apr 61 p 69)

(Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Wed 08 Mar 61 p 10)
 

Wed 15 Mar
thru
 Sun 26 Mar

"Pianist Bill Evans' trio follows the John Coltrane Quartet into the Sutherland Wednesday." (Chicago Sun-Times, Sun 12 Mar 61 p 8)

(Chicago Daily News Thu 16 Mar 61 p 64)
ditto, Fri 17 Mar, p 36; Sat 17 Mar, p 34

Note:  Radio broadcast at 11:30 p.m., WSBC-FM (93.1):  "The Bill Evans Trio is broadcast live from the Sutherland Lounge."

(Chicago Daily News, Wed 15 Mar 61, section 2, p 7)

Note:  The Stan Getz Quartet (with Roy Haynes, Steve Kuhn, Jimmy Garrison) was at the Village Vanguard, New York, Tue 21 Mar thru Sun 26 Mar 61 (John S. Wilson, "Stan Getz Back in U.S." (New York Times, Thu 23 Mar 61 p 30)

(New York Times, Tue 21 Mar 61 p ? 'Theatre Directory')

 Garrison, not LaFaro, was the bassist at the Village Vanguard with the new Stan Getz Quartet.  See Donald Maggin, Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz. New York: Morrow, a Quill Book, 1996, p. 196.
 

 Fri 31 Mar

(Los Angeles Sentinel Thu 23 Mar 61 p 4C)

"Stan Getz, backed by Steve Kuhn, piano; Scott LaFaro, bass; and Pete LaRoca, drums, makes his West Coast return appearance after an absence of almost two years at Ben Shapiro's Shrine event March 31. He shares the bill with Miles Davis' group and then moves to The Renaissance for a stand through April 16 . . ." 
 Down Beat 28:8 (April 13, 1961) p. 48.

"Two is company enough for any jazz concert, as Miles Davis and Stan Getz demonstrated to the small audience at the show presented by the Renaissance Club in Shrine Auditorium Friday night. . . . Davis' lean, imperturbable trumpet style was set off to advantage by Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb., all of whom were in good form in 'So What', 'Round Midnight', and Someday My Prince Will Come'. . . . Stan Getz, a more matter-of-fact player than Davis, made his first West Coast appearance in several years . . . [and his] playing is very even, in effect like a sewing machine . . .  with rows of perfectly stitched notes falling into place one after another. The tenor saxophonist was accompanied by Scott LaFaro, Roy Haynes, and Steve Kuhn, in 'Baubles, bangles, and Beads' and several more that offered man-sized portions of each musician's abilities and ideas." (Mimi Clar "Style All Their Own: Two Jazz Musicians Display Top Talent", Los Angeles Times, Sunday 2 April, 1961, Section F, p. 3)
 

Monday 03 April

LaFaro's 25th birthday anniversary

 Greeting card from Miles Davis annotated, "Dig -- No Bass!"
 

Greeting card's interior captioned, 'The group just isn't SOLID without you!' and signed, "Your Pal Miles Davis" (images courtesy of Helene LaFaro-Fernandez, e-mail, September 2005)

I have no idea when LaFaro received this card, but assume it was during the spring 1961, when both the Miles Davis Quintet and the Stan Getz Quartet were working the same venues in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Just as Davis later on "stole" drummer Tony Williams from Jackie McLean, I imagine Davis perhaps toying with the idea of appropriating LaFaro for the next edition of his band.  At the time, Davis worked with Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, and Hank Mobley -- the group that recorded Davis's first "live" album at San Francisco's Black Hawk, released by Columbia as Friday Night at the Black Hawk and as Saturday Night at the Black Hawk.  The next edition of the Davis band included Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and George Coleman.    
 

Tue 04 Apr
thru (?)
Sun 23 Apr

"The Miles Davis Group winds up its brief stay tonight [Sun 02 Apr], making way for Tuesday's opening of the Stan Getz Quartet. The latter will be on hand until April 16. Showtime: 8:45, 10:15, 11:45, and 1." (Los Angeles Times, Sunday 02 April 19 61 'Calendar' p. 8)

Note: Getz may have had his gig extended by a week, from Sun 16 Apr to Sun 23 Apr:  "Renaissance -- Stan Getz blows jazz four times nightly at 8:45, 10:15, 11:45, and 1"  (Los Angeles Times, Sunday 23 April 1961 'Calendar' p. 8)
 

 Thu 13 Apr

Downbeat 28:08 (13 Apr 61) p. ?45
 

 Sat 15 Apr

Note:  According to Los Angeles jazz fan David Berzinsky, LaFaro played at the Zebra Lounge on Central Avenue, week of 15 April 1961, with John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, and Roy Haynes.  According to Berzinski, Elvin Jones and Steve Davis were late getting to the gig, and LaFaro and Haynes (then half of the Stan Getz Quartet) covered for them. The Stan Getz Quartet was at the Club Renaissance, on Sunset Strip (now the House of Blues).
 

 Sun 30 Apr

The Getz quartet also played at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, the afternoon and evening of the last Sunday [30th] in April 1961, and Howard Rumsey, owner of the Lighthouse, did record this session. (18 Apr 2001 e-mail from David Berzinsky, LA jazz fan on the scene at the time)
 

 Tue 02 May
thru
Sun 21 May

Performed with the Stan Getz Quartet at the Black Hawk, according 'Where & When' column in Down Beat 28:10 (May 11, 1961) p. 41. Preceded by Miles Davis ("to 4/30") ; followed by Oscar Peterson ("opens 5/23")

(San Francisco Sunday Chronicle  'Datebook'  30 Apr 61 p 16)

" . . . Getz completed engagements in Chicago and Philadelphia, and in New York he started recording several albums for Verve Records. . . . Last month Getz flew to Los Angeles for a concert at the Shrine Auditorium and then began a series of west Coast engagements which will have him opening at the Blackhawk on Tuesday May 21 before he swings back to the East. . . . (Ralph J. Gleason, "Getz Missed the U.S. but Found Europeans Picking Up on Jazz" San Francisco Chronicle, ' Datebook' 30 Apr 61 p 16)

"Miles Davis recorded two LPs [Friday Night and Saturday Night at the Black Hawk, Columbia] on location at the Black Hawk during his April gig there. He was originally set for four weeks but canceled out of the first one at the last minute." in Down Beat 28:12 (June 8, 1961) p. 41 -- under heading 'San Francisco')

[Review of the Stan Getz Quartet] . . . "Getz is a master technician on the saxophone, but his technique never intrudes between his audience and his music. Among his accompanists is [drummer] Roy Haynes [and pianist] Steve Kuhn . . . and Scott LoFaro (sic) one of the most talented of modern bass players but one whose solos sometimes seem to be triumphs of technique over communication. . . ."  -- Ralph J. Gleason, "Jazz on Display--For Any Mood" San Francisco Chronicle (9 May 1961) p. 35.

Note:  While LaFaro was performing in San Francisco with Stan Getz, Scott's mother, Helen, visited with him for a few days.  LaFaro's older sister, Helene, and her husband, Manny Fernandez, drove their car from Los Angeles to visit with LaFaro also.  Near San Luis Obispo the Fernandez's were in an automobile accident.  Their car was totaled, but they were not seriously injured and continued their journey by bus, staying for several days in San Francisco (E-mail from Helene LaFaro-Fernandez, 14 May 2001)
 

Tue 06 Jun
thru
Sun 11 Jun

(New York Times Tue 6 Jun 61 p 41)
(ditto, Thu 8 Jun p 38 and Fri 9 Jun p 28)
(ditto, Sun 11 Jun 61, Sec 2, p 4X)

The following excerpt is from Dan Morgenstern's survey, published in the August 1961 issue of Metronome magazine, of the "live action" at jazz clubs in and around New York.  This particular 'Heard & Seen' column talks about performances at Nick's, 7th Ave. S. at 10th St. ; 'L' Bar, Broadway at 148th St.; and the Village Vanguard, 7th Ave, S at 11th St.:

"Getz's quartet opened here for a week's stand in March. Since then, they have worked the west coast and Chicago, and this return engagement was proof of the old saw that working together for awhile can do wonders. . . . The rhythm section was cooking, although the head chef, Roy Haynes, has a tendency to forget that dynamics are vitally important in a small group. He often generates enough thunder to blast off an army, and thus forces pianist Kuhn to rely heavily on a locked-hands style a la Bill Evans in order to make himself heard. Kuhn, who worked with Coltrane at the Jazz gallery, is a young pianist of exceptional taste and sensitivity, both in 'comping and solo. He has a light, lilting swing which goes well with Stan's conception. LaFaro is unique. His prodigious technique enables him to play all over the bass, often creating patterns reminiscent of the guitar, or the harp. He wisely rations his virtuosity when playing in the section, where his unerring ear and good time are constant. In addition, his pleasant demeanor and obvious joy in his work enable him to capture the attention of audiences not always receptive to good music on its own merits. . . ."
(Dan Morgenstern, 'Heard & seen' Metronome (August 1961) p 7.

Note:  Ronell (sic) Bright Trio:  Bright, piano; Peck Morrison, bass; Denzil Best, drums.  Gene McDaniels, vocalist
 

Tue 13 Jun
thru
Sun 25 Jun

(New York Times, Tue 13 Jun 61 p 29)

and

(New York Times, Sunday 25 June 1961, Sec. 2, p. X-3)

In June 1961 the Village Vanguard charged $2.00 admission -- a "music charge". On weekends, the charge was $2.50 except for the Sunday Matinee when the charge of admission was $1.50. 

 Sun 25 Jun

 Sun 25 Jun

Note:  According to Donald L. Maggin, “Stan [Getz] gave LaFaro Sunday, June 25, off to make a trio recording with Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard . . . [and] again gave LaFaro time off after a triumphant set with Stan's quartet on July 3 [sic, 2 July] at the Newport/New York Jazz Festival . . .” (Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz, New York: Morrow, 1996, p. 199)
 

 Sun 02 Jul

Recording:  Rare / Live. [Compilation] of Miles Davis & Stan Getz. [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. Getz quartet with LaFaro on tracks 5 through 7. Released previously as Unique Jazz UJ 14; Century, CEJC 00108; CECC 00108 [=CECC 00099 a CD], Natasha NI-4008 [CD]).

Recording was made Sunday 2 July 1961 according to Dan Morgenstern, critic writing for Metronome and jazz historian, who was present and heard LaFaro with the Getz quartet. (E-mail 2 May 03, from Dave Green, UK).
 

Down Beat 28:12 (June 8, 1961) p. 49

 Wed 05 Jul

Sometime around 8 P.M. from Cozzie's, Ottley called a woman friend who, at the time, was in Warsaw, NY, 90 miles west of Geneva, watching the children of friends away on vacation. Ottley asked if she could come to Geneva. She could not. Ottley and LaFaro instead drove to Warsaw. They arrived around 10:30 P.M. While Ottley and his women friend discussed some personal business, LaFaro, along with fellow musician, Gap Mangione, also a visitor, listened to Bela Bartok's 'Miraculous Mandarin' and the Chet Baker recording, Chet Baker Sings. After awhile all present drank freshly-brewed coffee. Ottley and LaFaro were asked to spend the night because they looked fatigued. (They had spent most of Wednesday swimming, and LaFaro had spent Tuesday evening before driving from Newport RI.) They declined the offer and left Warsaw around 12:30 A.M. to return to Geneva.  (E-mail, 21 March 2000, from Judy Fuchs Lewis Weislow, the woman Ottley and LaFaro visited this fateful evening) 
 

 Thu 06 Jul

Address of the property on which the tree stood with its scars from the accident (the tree was removed sometime in 2000) is: 2473 Route 5 and 20. Flint is seven miles west of Geneva. (Personal site visit, May 1996)

See Ontario County, NY map:  Docs\Map_US20_Geneva-Canandaigua-NY.pdf
 

 Fri 07 Jul

Note: LaFaro was residing at 4086 Daleview Avenue, Seaford, NY (on Long Island about ten miles east of Baldwin, NY). He lived with the Gabriel family. Gloria Gabriel, a Broadway show dancer, served as inspiration for his composition, 'Gloria's Step'.
 

 Sat 08 Jul

Note: Glenwood Cemetery, with its rolling terrain and a brook flowing through its midst, with its giant oaks and firs and flowers and leaves, and winding car paths throughout, is situated within a stone's throw from Belhurst Castle, where father and son played music together.
 

Breath, you invisible poem! Pure
exchange unceasing between the great
ether and our existence. Counterweight
in which I rhythmically occur . . .

Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus II.1 (tr. MacIntyre)