Clare Fischer Discography

[mikeweil]

Fischer's remarks about Marsh's timing are even more interesting in the light of an interview somewhere in the internet where Bill Fitch, conguero in the early sixties Tjader band that recorded Sona Libre, critizes Fischer of rushing the time  ..... can't find the link right now.

Found it: "Clare is a genius but personally a little too stiff for me. You always get this feeling that the tempo is going to jump."

http://www.bronxconexionlatinjazz.com/blog-percussion/27-percussion-issue-6-fall-1997

[JSngry]

And then you can get into the armchair psychology of was Fischer's genuinely deep grasp of and fucking with harmony a result of having some kind of rhythmic anxiety issue, was that what drove the desire to make all these really...tangy-bitey chords, or was it just that the guy was, like really right about some things and really wrong about others?

And then, in a post-Dolphy mindscape, does it really matter? Because once the emotion makes the sound, the sound might be gone, but so is the motivator. Once it's received, it becomes an interpretational response by the receiver. So even if Fischer was writing chords that were driven by some kind of papa too-tightness, what I hear is the beauty of notes fitting together in really beautiful ways, ways that perk up the ears and stimulate the aural imagination. So, which is right, what if both are right, then how about that, then?

Also - nothing Fischer wrote harmonically cannot be found in the work of "classical" composers who would have been at best one or maybe two generations ahead of him. So he was very much a man of his times in that sense, operating in a different world, one of still very much (and for a long time, almost exclusively) diatonic/tertiary entries and exits, recipes from one world being served in another, people like the flavor, but the cook angsting out that they don't eat it correctly (and seriously, this is something I contemplate when dining at Chinese or Indian buffets, seeing all the people who just pile shitloads of individual dishes on top of each other and then eat it all as one indiscriminate mass, do the people who make this food ever see that and just want to scream out loud NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! ?)

[six string]

On August 3, 2016 at 11:23 AM, HutchFan said:

Over the last few days, I've put together a rough-and-ready Clare Fischer discography because I couldn't find any single source on the web that gave me the info that I wanted. I could only find bits and pieces here and there, so I compiled the discography for myself -- using information from Wikipedia, allmusic, discogs, eBay, etc. I also gleaned some information from the Fischer recordings in my own collection.

Thought I'd share it with everyone. Hopefully, someone -- other than me -- will find it useful at some point.  

By the way, I'm sure there are some mistakes here, since I just threw it together. Please let me know if any errors jump out at you. (Incidentally, entries are listed chronologically by release date.)

 

Sessions as a Leader or Co-Leader

• Jazz (RCA Mexico, 1961); five of eight tracks trio; three tracks octet
• First Time Out (Pacific Jazz, 1962); trio
• Bossa Nova Jazz Samba (Pacific Jazz, 1962); co-led with Bud Shank; septet (with four percussionists)
• Surging Ahead (Pacific Jazz, 1963); trio
• Extension (Pacific Jazz, 1963); big band; reissued on Discovery and International Phonograph
• So Danço Samba (Pacific Jazz, 1964); quartet (CF plays both piano & organ)
• Manteca! (Pacific Jazz,1965); big band
• Easy Livin' (Revelation, 1966); recorded 1963; five of eight tracks solo piano; three tracks piano/bass duo; reissued with a different cover in 1968
• Songs for Rainy Day Lovers (Columbia, 1967); with strings and rhythm section; reissued as America the Beautiful on Discovery (1978) and reissued again on Clare Fischer Productions (CFP, 2002)
• ONE – to get ready: FOUR..... to —GO! (Revelation, 1968); recorded 1963-65; four tracks solo piano; two tracks quartet
• Thesaurus (Atlantic, 1969); recorded 1968; reissued on LP as ‘Twas Only Yesterday (Discovery); also reissued on CD as Waltz (Discovery) with seven of nine tracks from another LP, Duality
• Fusion 2 (Ten Records, 1969); recorded 1964; CF only plays on four of seven tracks (one side of LP); piano trio; released in Argentina only
• Great White Hope (Revelation, 1970); solo recital on Yamaha YC-30 organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano
• Love is Surrender: Ralph Carmichael Presents the Multi-Keyboards of Clare Fischer (Light Records, 1971)
• Clare Fischer in the Reclamation Act of 1972! (Revelation, 1972); recorded 1970-71; four of six tracks solo piano; two of six tracks trio
• Organ Solos from “Tell It Like It Is” (Light, 1972)
• Report of the 1st Annual Symposium on Relaxed Improvisation (Revelation, 1973); recorded 1972; co-led with Warne Marsh and Gary Foster; quintet
• Music Inspired by the Kinetic Sculpture of Don Conard Mobiles (CF Records, 1975); solo recital on Yamaha EX-42 organ
• T’DA-A-A! (Revelation, 1975?); recorded 1972 (?); quartet (CF plays Yamaha EX-42 organ); also issued as Clare Fischer and EX-42 (MPS, 1980); note: the liner notes on the MPS LP incorrectly state June 1979 as the recording date
• The State of His Art (Revelation, 1976) – solo piano recital; recorded 1973
• Clare Declares (MPS, 1977) – pipe organ recital
• Alone Together: Clare Fischer & the Brunner-Schwer Steinway (MPS, 1977 / Discovery, 1980); recorded in 1975; reissued on Advance
• Jazz Song (Revelation, 1979); solo piano recital; recorded 1973
• Salsa Picante (MPS, 1979 / Discovery,1980); recorded 1978
• Duality (Discovery, 1980); big band; recorded 1968 (at the same time as Thesaurus); reissued (less two tracks) on CD as Waltz (Discovery) supplemented with the complete album Thesaurus
• Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present 2 + 2 (PAUSA, 1981); released in Germany on MPS as Foreign Exchange: The First Album
• Machaca (MPS, 1981); with Salsa Picante; recorded 1979
• Head, Heart and Hands (Revelation, 1982); solo piano; recorded 1970 and 1973
• …And Sometimes Voices (Discovery, 1982); with Salsa Picante & 2 + 2 (voices)
• Starbright (Discovery, 1983); duo; co-led with Gary Foster; four of eight tracks reissued on CD titled Blues Trilogy (Discovery, 1993), which also includes all tracks from Whose Woods Are These?
• Whose Woods Are These? (Discovery, 1984); with woodwind ensemble featuring Gary Foster; recorded 1982; reissued on CD as Blues Trilogy with four of eight tracks from Starbright
• Crazy Bird (Discovery, 1985); with Salsa Picante; recorded 1984
• Freefall (Discovery, 1986); with Latin Jazz Sextet 2 +2 (voices)
• Clare Fischer Plays by and with Himself (Discovery, 1987); solo piano [An unfortunate title]
• Tjaderama (Discovery, 1987); with His Latin Jazz Sextet (no voices)
• Blues Trilogy (Discovery, 1987); featuring Gary Foster
• Remembrances/Lembranças (Concord, 1990)
• Memento (Discovery, 1992); compilation (of Discovery recordings?)
• Just Me: Solo Piano Excursions (Concord, 1995); solo piano
• Rockin’ In Rhythm (JMI, 1997)
• The Latin Side (Koch, 1997); with the Metropole Orchestra
• Clare Fischer’s Jazz Corps (CFP, 1998)
• Latin Patterns (MPS, 1999); compilation tracks with CF’s Salsa Picante band
• Symbiosis (CFP, 1999); co-led with Hélio Delmiro
• Bert van den Brink Invites Clare Fischer (Challenge, 2001); duo piano; co-led with Bert van den Brink
• After the Rain (CFP, 2001)
• On a Turquoise Cloud (CFP, 2002)
• Introspectivo (M&L Music, 2005); solo piano
• A Family Affair (CFP, 2006)
• ...And Sometimes Instruments (CFP, 2011); with The Clare Fischer Voices
• Continuum (Clavo, 2011); with The Clare Fischer Big Band
• ¡Ritmo! (Clavo, 2012); with The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band
• Music for Strings, Percussion and the Rest (Clavo, 2013)

 

Selected Sessions as a Sideman & Arranger

• The Hi-Lo's – And All That Jazz (Columbia, 1958); arranger, piano
• Cal Tjader – West Side Story (Fantasy, 1960); arranger, piano
• Dizzy Gillespie – A Portrait of Duke Ellington (Verve, 1960); arranger
• The Hi-Lo's – This Time It's Love (Columbia, 1962); arranger
• Cal Tjader – Plays Harold Arlen (Fantasy, 1962); arranger
• Cal Tjader & Mary Stallings – Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings (Fantasy, 1962); piano, arranger
• Cal Tjader – Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil (Verve, 1962); arranger, piano
• George Shearing – Shearing Bossa Nova (Capitol, 1962); arranger
• Bud Shank – Brasamba! (Pacific Jazz, 1963); piano
• Joe Pass – Catch Me (Pacific Jazz, 1963); piano, organ
• Cal Tjader – Soña Libré (Verve, 1963); organ, piano
• The Jazz Crusaders – Chile Con Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1965); organ
• Stan Kenton – Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (Capitol, 1965); arranger
• Moacir Santos – Maestro (Blue Note, 1972); organ
• Hubert Laws – In the Beginning (CTI, 1974); arranger, piano
• The Singers Unlimited ‎– A Special Blend (MPS, 1976); arranger, electric piano
• Cal Tjader – Guarabe (Fantasy, 1977); electric piano; reissued on CD titled Here and Now (Fantasy)
• Art Pepper – Tokyo Debut (Galaxy, 1977) ; electric piano
• Cal Tjader – Huracán (Crystal Clear, 1978); electric piano; reissued on Laserlight
• Louie Bellson & Walfredo De Los Reyes ‎– Ecué Ritmos Cubanos (Pablo, 1978); electric piano
• Cal Tjader – Here (Fantasy, 1979); recorded live in 1977; electric piano; reissued on CD titled Here and Now (Fantasy) less one track
• Donald Byrd – Donald Byrd and 125th Street (Elektra, 1979)
• Poncho Sanchez – Poncho (Discovery, 1979); arranger, electric piano
• Bill Perkins – Many Ways to Go (Sea Breeze, 1980); organ
• Poncho Sanchez – Pa'lante (Straight Ahead) (Discovery, 1980); arranger, electric piano
• João Gilberto ‎– Brasil (Warner Brothers, 1981); keyboards
• Donald Byrd – September Afternoon (Discovery, 1982); arranger; recorded 1959 (?)
• João Gilberto ‎– João (Polygram Brazil, 1991); arranger, keyboards
• Cal Tjader – Cuban Fantasy (Fantasy, 2003); electric piano; recorded live in 1977 (same live session as heard on Here LP)

Nice job on this artist deserving great recognotion.  I didn't know he made that many recordings for Discovery.

[HutchFan]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

And then you can get into the armchair psychology of was Fischer's genuinely deep grasp of and fucking with harmony a result of having some kind of rhythmic anxiety issue, was that what drove the desire to make all these really...tangy-bitey chords, or was it just that the guy was, like really right about some things and really wrong about others?

And then, in a post-Dolphy mindscape, does it really matter? Because once the emotion makes the sound, the sound might be gone, but so is the motivator. Once it's received, it becomes an interpretational response by the receiver. So even if Fischer was writing chords that were driven by some kind of papa too-tightness, what I hear is the beauty of notes fitting together in really beautiful ways, ways that perk up the ears and stimulate the aural imagination. So, which is right, what if both are right, then how about that, then?

Yes! It's sort of like pinball. With full intention and meaning, we launch our little metal ball into the machine -- but once it's out of the chute, the ball careens and flies around all over place, accelerating and decelerating, pinging and shooting in unexpected places. Sure, we can press the flipper buttons to keep the ball in play -- and maybe even do it skillfully.  But we can never again fully control the ball's path. There are too many variables, too many possible outcomes. 

 

. . . That's my little pet metaphor for making and sharing meaning.  

Edited August 5, 2016 by HutchFan

[Ken Dryden]

Russ Freeman/Richard Twardzik/Jimmy Rowles/Clare Fischer:

  The Pacific Jazz Piano Trios                                                   Mosaic Select 19

 

 

Clare Fischer Big Band       Pacific Jazz                                                         Clavo 201408

Clare Fischer                       Out of the Blue                                                   Clavo 201509

 

I think that one of the above CDs doesn't feature the composer/pianist playing, but I'm two floors above my music library at the moment.

 

               
 

Edited August 6, 2016 by Ken Dryden
duplication

[mikeweil]

On 6.8.2016 at 11:58 PM, Ken Dryden said:

Russ Freeman/Richard Twardzik/Jimmy Rowles/Clare Fischer:

  The Pacific Jazz Piano Trios                                                   Mosaic Select 19              
 

That's a reissue of the two Pacific Jazz piano trio LPs from 1962/3.

[Quasimado]

Know his work mainly from the very fine "Thesaurus" from 1969 which I picked up for the Warne Marsh solos (regardless of 'behind the beat'). But recently came across a CD version of his "Extensions" (1963) which IMO is a remarkable recording - for the originality of the arrangements, the overall musicianship and for the intriguing tenor of little heard Jerry Coker (author of Patterns in Jazz). CD sound by Jonathan Horwich is excellent.

[Clunky]

7 hours ago, Quasimado said:

Know his work mainly from the very fine "Thesaurus" from 1969 which I picked up for the Warne Marsh solos (regardless of 'behind the beat').

For those into vinyl I found the sound of the reissue of “Thesaurus “ as “T’was only yesterday “ on Discovery to sound significantly better than the compressed sounding original. 

[mikeweil]

Fischer stated in the liner notes of the Dicovery reissue that he was dissatisfied with the sound of the Atlantic LP as it had the low frequencies equalized out. The bass sax and string bass sounds were affected by this.

The Discovery CD reissue is titled "Waltz" and includes seven tracks from another big band session recorded the same year. All nine tracks were on the Discovery LP "Duality".

Waiting for the CD of George Shearing's "Bossa Nova" to arrive, which features Fischer's exquisite wood wind arrangements.

 

[mikeweil]

On 26.5.2018 at 4:15 PM, mikeweil said:

Waiting for the CD of George Shearing's "Bossa Nova" to arrive, which features Fischer's exquisite wood wind arrangements.

 

Got it today, and listened to it three times in a row! It's gem of an album, a little masterpiece. I was afraid I would be annoyed by the shortness of the tracks, all around three minutes, but no: Theme statements, piano solos, and woodwinds are perfectly balanced, subleties abound. Shearing even emulates Fischer's piano style at times - he was a fantastic pianist. This is everything but a cocktail jazz album, to me it is several steps above any Getz bossa nova album, which have a great soloist, but are less sophisticated as far as rhythmic subleties and the overall Brazilian mood are concerned. The woodwind writing is better than on Cal Tjader's LP from the same year. Rhythm section is Shearing, Laurindo Almeida, Ralph Pena, and Vernel Fournier, no vibes or jazz guitar. Simply great!

Edited May 30, 2018 by mikeweil

[Clunky]

2 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Got it today, and listened to it three times in a row! It's gem of an album, a little masterpiece. I was afraid I would be annoyed by the shortness of the tracks, all around three minutes, but no: Theme statements, piano solos, and woodwinds are perfectly balanced, subleties abound. Shearing even emulates Fischer's piano style at times - he was a fantastic pianist. This is everything but a cocktail jazz album, to me it is several steps above any Getz bossa nova albums, which have a great soloist, but are less sophisticated as far as rhythmic subeties and the overall Brazilian mood are concerned. The wood wind writing is better than on Cal Tjader's LP from the same year. Rhythm section is Shearing, Laurindo Almeida, Ralph Pena, and Vernel Fournier, no vibes or jazz guitar. Simply great!

Thanks for that . Sounds very tempting 

[sidewinder]

On 26/05/2018 at 2:12 PM, Clunky said:

For those into vinyl I found the sound of the reissue of “Thesaurus “ as “T’was only yesterday “ on Discovery to sound significantly better than the compressed sounding original. 

Interesting - I’ve always been unhappy with the flat sound of that Atlantic LP.

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, Clunky said:

Thanks for that . Sounds very tempting 

Yes, it's fantastic. As Mike says, the woodwind writing is as good as it gets. Just to pick an example, he manages to score a tune like Desafinado (of which there are many tired versions) in a way that is brilliant and somewhat eccentric, while at the same time being superficially in an easy-listening style that will pass totally without notice for someone who thinks they are really listening to elevator music. That is pure genius.

[mikeweil]

14 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Just to pick an example, he manages to score a tune like Desafinado (of which there are many tired versions) in a way that is brilliant and somewhat eccentric, while at the same time being superficially in an easy-listening style that will pass totally without notice for someone who thinks they are really listening to elevator music. That is pure genius.

Thanks, Daniel, for this great description!

Edited May 31, 2018 by mikeweil

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

im obsessed w/ those TREND cds.... god they were so expensive.  the only one i dont have is Tjaderrama.  The one from 1989-90 Lembracas is good and is kind of his last small group electric album.  Crazy Bird was the 1st i found, and then i got Free Fall

On 5/26/2018 at 7:15 AM, mikeweil said:

Fischer stated in the liner notes of the Dicovery reissue that he was dissatisfied with the sound of the Atlantic LP as it had the low frequencies equalized out. The bass sax and string bass sounds were affected by this.

The Discovery CD reissue is titled "Waltz" and includes seven tracks from another big band session recorded the same year. All nine tracks were on the Discovery LP "Duality".

Waiting for the CD of George Shearing's "Bossa Nova" to arrive, which features Fischer's exquisite wood wind arrangements.

 

 

 cant believe he was able to lease the tapes from Atlantic 

[Chuck Nessa]

1 hour ago, chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez said:

im obsessed w/ those TREND cds.... god they were so expensive.  the only one i dont have is Tjaderrama.  The one from 1989-90 Lembracas is good and is kind of his last small group electric album.  Crazy Bird was the 1st i found, and then i got Free Fall

 

 cant believe he was able to lease the tapes from Atlantic 

The tapes were originally produced and owned by Albert Marx. He just reclaimed them from Atlantic and did them properly. Most of the early Fischer dates were Marx productions. He licensed other titles to Columbia and Warner Bros. I think they all eventually came back to him.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Chuck Nessa

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i see, interestng- thank you

[medjuck]

IIRC (and I often don't), Leonard Feather gave 5 stars to Songs for Everyday Lovers in Downbeat. As a result I bought it and it became the first   ever jazz related Lp I  traded away. 

[Chuck Nessa]

2 minutes ago, medjuck said:

IIRC (and I often don't), Leonard Feather gave 5 stars to Songs for Everyday Lovers in Downbeat. As a result I bought it and it became the first   ever jazz related Lp I  traded away. 

LOL

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i have to get all the first few poncho lps!!  Clare Fischer plays electric piano on them

[mikeweil]

AFAIK there were six LPs released on MPS.

The first two were a solo piano recital recorded on the Steinway in Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer's private studio at Villingen in the Black Forest - Alone Together - , and a solo organ recital on a pipe organ - Clare Declares -  in Brunner-Schwer's home at Mersburg, Lake of Constance. Both were recorded in October, 1975. 

... to be continued later - I have to leave for work.

[HutchFan]

8 hours ago, chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez said:

i have to get all the first few poncho lps!!  Clare Fischer plays electric piano on them

I have the first Sanchez LP, simply titled Poncho.  It's excellent.  (Several of the tunes are available on YT, if you'd like to sample them.)  I've been keeping an eye out for the second LP, Straight Ahead (Pa'lante). But it fetches silly prices from re-sellers, and I don't want it that much.

If you're interested in more of Fischer's work in a Latin jazz vein, you should definitely check out Cal Tjader's Guarabe -- assuming you haven't already heard it:

I think Guarabe is a wonderful record, one of Tjader's finest.  It's just as good as -- maybe even better than -- Fischer's "Salsa Picante" recordings for MPS.  (As ever, YMMV!)

FYI: If you're looking to buy it in digital format, Guarabe has been reissued on a Fantasy CD called Here and There. 

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

oh you know it dog- i love guarabe!

[JSngry]

this old dog concurs with the you dog.

[Teasing the Korean]

On May 30, 2018 at 2:33 PM, mikeweil said:

...This is everything but a cocktail jazz album...

What?!?  This is the EPITOME of a cocktail jazz album, and I have often spun it while enjoying Shrunken Skulls or Ancient Mariners.  Are you part of the Ladies' Temperance League?