| Gavin B. |
07-29-2013 01:07 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Larehip
(Post 1329951)
Huge fan. He had two of the greatest bassists--Scott LaFaro and Eddie Gomez. Can't beat that.
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Scott LaFaro was amazing. He was only 25 years old when he died and he played with many of the jazz greats of his generation: Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Art Pepper, Cal Tjander, Larry Corryell and Cannonball Adderly. Although his performing career lasted only six years, 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", and inspiring a generation of bassists who followed him.
According to Scott's website:
Quote:
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. LaFaro's 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 LaFaro's 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 LaFaro's 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.
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