Clare Fischer

[mikeweil]

Anyone heard Cal Tjader's Cuban Fantasy, which prominently features Fischer? He damn near steals the show with this remarkably lyrical playing!

Haven't heard it so far, but I know this material comes from the same concert as the tracks on the "Here" live LP on Galaxy, which was included on the "Here and There" CD on Fantasy discussed above. So I guess it's in the same vein. For anyone interested:

Cal Tjader (vibes, timbales, guiro, cowbell) Clare Fischer (electric piano) Bob Redfield (guitar) Rob Fisher (bass) Poncho Sanchez (congas, bongos) Pete Riso (drums)

The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California, June 17 & 18, 1977

Tu Crees Que Galaxy GXY-5121, Fantasy FCD-24743-2

Liz-Anne - -

Morning - -

Here - -

If - -

Gary's Theme -

Cuban Fantasy Fantasy FCD-24777-2

Guarabe -

Tamanco no Samba (Samba Blim) -

Tu Crees Que? -

Silenciosa -

Descarga Cachao -

Manuel Deeghit -

Guachi Guara -

Note: ?Gary's Theme? was omitted from the Fantasy FCD-24743-2 CD issue due to playing time restrictions.

[Dr. Rat]

The "Cuban Fantasy" cd is very nice. We've been playing it quite a bit here.

I'd have to agree with JSngry on evaluating Fischer generally. I'm a big fan of Tjader's and often lamented his association with Fischer. I always thought what Fischer player was interesting, and sometimes (it seemed to me) he'd lend just the right sort of harmonic touches Tjader's music needed, but more often he pushed it in the direction of "sophiticated kitsch" if there can be such a thing.

LIVE, though, Fischer seems to be more of a positive force.

The Cuban Fantasy material is as good as Here and There, and maybe even better, IMO.

[blue lake]

Fischer played duets with saxophonist Gary Foster twice at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and once at St. Cecilia Music Society in Grand Rapids during the 1980s. Pre concert interviews were published in the Grand Rapids Press. Some of that was on digital piano, which was set up to play three sounds simultaneously on each key. The revelation in that setting is of course Fischer's take on Tristano, and a hard swinging version of Sippin at Bells.

He writes string sweeteners for Prince, and through the rumor mill one hears Prince never wants to meet him face to face as it might spoil their collaboration, for both of them

[mikeweil]

Fischer played duets with saxophonist Gary Foster twice at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and once at St. Cecilia Music Society in Grand Rapids during the 1980s.

The Blues Trilogy CD I posted above is half duets of Fischer (on acoustic piano) and Foster, very fine music!

[ghost of miles]

Wonder if Mosaic might ever be interested in doing a box of Fischer's Pacific Jazz work...

[mikeweil]

This has been suggested here several times - I'd go for it without hesitation! (although I like what I've heard of the Latin Jazz sides better than the straightahead .

[Daniel A]

Has anyone around here heard the CD reissue of "Extension" and "Songs for Rainy Day Lovers" (for some reason titled "America the Beautiful")?

This review indicates that it's a vinyl dub. It also incorrectly states that the later title was recorded in 1978.

I'm a great fan of Clare Fischer's large group arranging and -writing. And I also have a soft spot for his adventures into easy listening, so the CD looks interesting... Allthough, if it's a needle drop I could as well get the individual LPs instead.

[Daniel A]

And, yes, 'Pensativa' is a lovely tune!

[alocispepraluger102]

I'm afraid most of the CDs with his works are OOP.

His arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie's 1960 Verve CD A Portrait of Duke Ellington constitute one of the most original takes on Ellington material ever recorded.

He is a master of authentic Brazilian and Cuban music; I'm still waiting for Pacific Jazz CDs of So Danco Samba and Manteca.

He had two tenures with Tjader, one off and on from 1960 to 1962 (mostly as arranger, alternating at the piano with Lonnie Hewitt), his arrangements on Fantasy FCD-24775-2 Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen & West Side Story are fantastic; and a second from 1976 to 1978, the Fantasy CDs FCD-24743-2 Here And There and FCD-24777-2 Cuban Fantasy represent that.

The two Verve albums with Tjader he was on during the former period are OOP: Verve 815 058-2 Cal Tjader - Sona Libré (great!) and Verve 543 380-2 Cal Tjader Plays The Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil.

He had a great Latin band with Poncho Sanchez during/after his second stay with Tjader that cut several LPs for MPS, there is a selection on the MPS CD Latin Patterns: The Legendary MPS Sessions.

His list of credits as an arranger is enormous and ranges from Gillespie to Rufus. His own Californian big band was excellent, Thesaurus is currently available, although Fischer himself favoured the OOP Discovery CD for sound.

The cover photo of the latter should clear any doubts about his gender and was the initial inspiration for my buying this album:

have owned the awesome 'thesaurus' for over 4o years. it is a treasure.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I bought several Clare Fischer albums in the '60s and early '70s. I like them a lot but I hardly ever feel like playing them. Dunno why; perhaps I'll get a few out and give them another bash.

His first two are fantastic albums. "First time out" is an album that continually amazes with his rhythmic sensibility; I'm not much of a one to appreciate clever harmonic twists but the groove on these tracks is just incredible!

"Surging ahead" is less rhythmically challenging, more laid back, and in many places very much funkier - particularly "Davenport blues" (I DO love modern musicians playing this very old stuff!).

These two LPs, plus three bonus cutz, have been reissued on the Mosaic Pacific Jazz Piano Trios select (019). I am kind of toying with my scruples on this set because of those two albums. (Well, Twardzik's Satie-like material is another attraction.)

I also have the lovely "Thesaurus", which is interesting, though no longer quite my cup of tea.

I have two on Revelation - "Easy living" a nice set of solos and duets with Bobby West on bass. This is an album that sounds like background music - and can be - but it's so tuneful. The other is "Great white hope", an album of solos on Yamaha combo organ and Fender Rhodes. This is incredible! Can I get a image of the sleeve?

No - Well the sleeve is worth the price of the album! And the music is a bonus.

I also have a Cal Tjader featuring Clare which hasn't been mentioned. "Huracan" on Crystal Clear 8003. This was done in 1978 as a Direct Disc recording, which was the "new thing" then. It's a 45 album. And it effin' well LEAPS off the turntable! Clare did the arrangements and wrote the title track, which is as furious as its title, and the wonderfully named "Funquiado" - also aptly named. The other two trax are "Tres palabres" - very relaxed - and the good old standard "Ritmo caliente".

The line-up on the album is nothing to be sneezed at:

Cal - vibes

Clare - electric piano

Willie Bobo - timbales

Rob Fisher - bass

Gary Foster - alto sax, flute

Ronald King - trumpet

Kurt McGettrick - baritone sax - (Fantastic! Who is this man?)

Victor Pantoja - bongos, cowbell

Alex Rodriguez - trumpet

Frank Rosolino - trombone

Poncho Sanchez - conga

Rick Zunigar - guitar

I never really believed in hi fi until I heard this record. Its drawback is that, since it's a 45, the playing time is a bit short - 23:27. But it really is quality that counts in this.

Glad this was upped - I'm feeling enthusiastic about Clare now

MG

[medjuck]

Has anyone around here heard the CD reissue of "Extension" and "Songs for Rainy Day Lovers" (for some reason titled "America the Beautiful")?

This review indicates that it's a vinyl dub. It also incorrectly states that the later title was recorded in 1978.

I'm a great fan of Clare Fischer's large group arranging and -writing. And I also have a soft spot for his adventures into easy listening, so the CD looks interesting... Allthough, if it's a needle drop I could as well get the individual LPs instead.

I have a vague memory (you may notice that many of my memories are vague) of buying "Songs for Rainy Day Lovers" because it got a 5 star review in Downbeat by (I think) Leonard Feather. Taught me to not trust reviewers.

[Teasing the Korean]

"So Danco Samba," mentioned earlier, is a real gem of mid-60s Brazilian jazz, and deserves to be reissued.

Anyone who likes his woodwind arrangements on the Cal Tjader "Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil" may want to check out the Shearing bossa album on Capitol, circa 1963. Clare does similar woodwind arrangements on this album, which benefits from not focusing on the same 10 bossa songs which showed up on most similar sessions.

[chris olivarez]

There was a Clare Fischer with voices he did back in the 80's I've been looking for. On the whole I've liked most of what I've heard from him.

[mikeweil]

There are three of them!

1982 And Sometimes Voices (with 2+2) - Latin Jazz Sextet with voices

1986 Freefall (Grammy winner) - Latin Jazz Sextet with voices

1997 Rockin' In Rhythm -Clare Fischer & Friends - Latin jazz group plus 6 voices

Besides that, he wrote some charts for the Singers Unlimited reunion LP on MPS.

See his website http://www.clarefischer.com/

[chris olivarez]

There are three of them!

1982 And Sometimes Voices (with 2+2) - Latin Jazz Sextet with voices

1986 Freefall (Grammy winner) - Latin Jazz Sextet with voices

1997 Rockin' In Rhythm -Clare Fischer & Friends - Latin jazz group plus 6 voices

Besides that, he wrote some charts for the Singers Unlimited reunion LP on MPS.

See his website http://www.clarefischer.com/

Mike it was the first one and I spent part of my day today tracking it down and I was successful. I will make an effort to reacquire it as well as acquiring the second one-I already have the third one. Damn I wish he didn't have so much oop stuff.

Edited September 27, 2006 by chris olivarez

[baryshnikov]

A great lp he did was called Salsa Picante, lots of work on Concord Picante label with Cal Tjader. I have him with the band on video.

[chris olivarez]

A great lp he did was called Salsa Picante, lots of work on Concord Picante label with Cal Tjader. I have him with the band on video.

Cool.

[mikeweil]

A great lp he did was called Salsa Picante, lots of work on Concord Picante label with Cal Tjader.

Clare Fischer recorded with Cal Tjader for Fantasy and Verve, but not for Concord Picante - that was Mark Levine on piano on the Latin Jazz Concords!

That Salsa Picante was on MPS, issued in the US on Discovery, IIRC - there was a second LP titled Machaca. Both are very good. Poncho Sanchez and Alex Acuna are in the band, and Gary Foster.

[Daniel A]

So many of Fischer's albums were never reissued on CD that I could almost as well have posted this in the vinyl forum, but these are some of my favourites featuring his fine composing and arranging:

Extension (Pacific Jazz, 1963)

Manteca (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

Duality (Discovery, 1969)

Easy Living (Revelation, 1963) is solo and piano/bass duo and, as has been mentioned, somewhat low-key but also very beautiful and a fine opportunity to enjoy his piano voicings.

Songs for Rainy Day Lovers (Columbia, 1967) could be written of as easy listening, but it's in fact as inventively and beautifully arranged as just about anything he's done, and way more advanced than your typical piano+strings elevator music date. It should be approached with an open ear and mind; not for all tastes, but I couldn't imagine a fan of Fischer's writing and arranging not liking most of it.

His collaborations with Bud Shank from 1962, 'Brasamba' and 'Bossa Nova Jazz Samba' (both on Pacific Jazz and none of them reissued on CD) are beatiful examples of cliché-free jazz/bossa nova.

I always keep an eye open for albums with Fischer arrangements. The Shearing bossa nova album is one to get, not so much for Shearing who is somewhat faceless on a partly worn-out repertoire, but again for the arrangements which make good use of bass clarinet. I agree with Mike on this point; Clare's untouchable when it comes to scoring for lower woodwinds.

[mikeweil]

I also have a Cal Tjader featuring Clare which hasn't been mentioned. "Huracan" on Crystal Clear 8003. This was done in 1978 as a Direct Disc recording, which was the "new thing" then. It's a 45 album. And it effin' well LEAPS off the turntable! Clare did the arrangements and wrote the title track, which is as furious as its title, and the wonderfully named "Funquiado" - also aptly named. The other two trax are "Tres palabres" - very relaxed - and the good old standard "Ritmo caliente".

The line-up on the album is nothing to be sneezed at:

Cal - vibes

Clare - electric piano

Willie Bobo - timbales

Rob Fisher - bass

Gary Foster - alto sax, flute

Ronald King - trumpet

Kurt McGettrick - baritone sax - (Fantastic! Who is this man?)

Victor Pantoja - bongos, cowbell

Alex Rodriguez - trumpet

Frank Rosolino - trombone

Poncho Sanchez - conga

Rick Zunigar - guitar

I never really believed in hi fi until I heard this record. Its drawback is that, since it's a 45, the playing time is a bit short - 23:27. But it really is quality that counts in this.

Forgot to mention this saw a cheapo label CD reissue (Laserlight) with two tracks added on which Foster's flute is the only woodwind.

[mikeweil]

Kurt McGettrick - baritone sax - (Fantastic! Who is this man?)

This guy must have been a studio musician for some time - he did some great work with Frank Zappa, too.

[ghost of miles]

Posted elsewhere on the board, but I'll place it here as well for Clare Fischer fans or those who are interested in his music:

Extension: Clare Fischer in the 1960s

[flat5]

Kurt McGettrick - Bari Sax Monster - R.I.P. Edited December 1, 2009 by flat5

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Kurt McGettrick - Bari Sax Monster - R.I.P.

Thakns for posting that interesting discussion.

MG