Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band ¡Intenso!

Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band
¡Intenso!
lavo Records

Four years after the passing of Clare Fischer we have another posthumous recording prepared and produced by his son Brent. Brent states that working his father they planned and prepared to release his music and he captured his father with a small group at home in his last years so that other musicians could be added one day. The latest project is this Latin jazz big band album with a number of special guests and featuring Roberta Gambarini, Sheila E, Luis Conte, Scott Whitfield, Don Shelton, and others, with Brent sometimes cresting new arrangements based on his father's original ones.

The album opens with a terrific "Algo Bueno (Something Good)," which is a spirited salsa reworking of Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'N' You," with a standout solo from Don Shelton. Fisher's own "Gaviota (Seagull)" is one of two selections with Ms. Gambarini adding her lovely vocal with a dreamy Fischer keyboard solo and a serpentine soprano sax weaving in around Gambarini towards the end of this. The Ellington classic "Rockin' in Rhythm," is reimagined with an Afro-Cuban 6/8 groove with a Rob Hardt tenor sax solo set against the imaginative orchestration here. Sheila E. adds her percussion to "Solar Patrol," with its funky feel and Adam Budman's sax solo while Gambarini returns for the lively, breezy "The Butterfly Samba," singing and scatting at the brisk tempo, with trombonist Whitfield joining her as they scat through the changes with the horns trading fours with them.

The breath of Fischer's compositions and arrangements is displayed with "Renacimiento." The title means Renaissance in Spanish and opens with medieval melodies before shifting to quasi-Latin rhythms with Brian Clancy's robust tenor the first of several fine solos. The "Le Mucura" has Clare Fischer's big band arrangement of this traditional Columbia cumbia with noteworthy soprano sax, trumpet solos and keyboard solos. Another adaptation is Osvaldo Farrés' "Tres Palabras," which Clare Fischer had written and refined arrangements for over time and which Brent and Matt Wong have orchestrated for the lovely performance with a alto flute solo.

The closing "Play Time" is, according to Brent, the last song Clare recorded and appears here on a recording here for the first time with a blistering trombone solo from Francesco Torres that fades out as it keeps percolating with its irresistible rhythms. It is a lively close to another fascinating, imaginative and passionate recording that Brent Fischer has brought us as he helps perpetuate his father's amazing legacy.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 370). Here is the Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band in performance.

 

Clare Fischer - Out of the Blue

Brent Fischer has been busy preserving and perpetuating his father's legacy since the legendary Clare Fischer passed away in 2012. "Out of the Blue" is the latest Clavo Records release of previously unissued old and new recordings by the pianist, composer and arranger with his original keyboards supported by his son and producer Brent who provided arrangements and played Percussion Instruments and Bass; Peter Erskine or Mike Shapiro on drums, and Denise Donatelli & John Prolux -providing vocals for "Out of the Blue."

This recording contains several of Fischer's original compositions along with seven jazz and Brazilian standards. Son Brent's notes in the attached booklet provide a context for this posthumous release as well as details each of the selections. Listening to this a number of times one notices a stately elegant quality to Clare Fischer's piano on the opening "Love's Walk,' with Peter Erskine and Brent accompanying him. What also one notices is the articulation and the fascinating development of the musical themes. He employed an electric keyboard for "Tema Do Boneco De Palha (Theme Of The Straw Doll)," one of several Brazilian performances here, and he makes use of the instruments tonality in constructing the performance here and at the same time retain the relaxed, uncluttered feel of his piano.

"When You Wish Upon A Star / Someday My Prince Will Come" is a marvelous solo piano feature where he finds common threads between the two songs. "Starbright" is another fascinating performance with his electric keyboard suggesting a vibraphone at times. "Cascade Of The Seven Waterfalls," is another Brazilian delight, while the title track features the vocals of Donatelli and Prolux adding both horn-like lines and scatting against the trio backing. "Millbrae Walk," inspired by the late Cal Tjader, again has the leader evoking vibes on his keyboards on this lively performance which is followed by a haunting solo rendition of the Jobim-Gilbert-De Moraes penned "Amor Em Paz." Johnny Hodges' "Squatty Roo," is a delightful, sprightly duet between father and son and then followed by an introspective, poetical reading of Django Reinhardt's lovely "Nuages." Again it sounds like vibes being (along with piano) played on a highly energized performance of Fischer's "Novelho," with a bass solo and trading fours with the drummer followed by some lively piano. The closing medley of Brazilian classics "Carnaval / A Felicidade / Samba De Orpheu," further displays his ability to bring out an emotive quality of each note.

In the notes, Brent Fischer hints at more musical delights from his father. Certainly "Out of the Blue" will whet the musical appetite for these.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is some vintage Clare Fischer.