2014 marked 100 years since the start of the First World War, with armies modernized to use then advanced technologies like tanks, armored cars and chemical gas. In Jazz arena, last year was centennial celebration of singers Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. This year we have Charlie Christian, then next year we will see Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Ella Fitzgerald, followed by Hank Jones in 2018, Art Blakey in 2019, and here comes Charlie Parker in the following year.<\/p>\n
Now, today is the 80th<\/sup> birth anniversary of Scott LaFaro. THE great bass player, who as member of the first trio of Bill Evans(1929\uff5e1980), which existed from October 1959 to the last day of his life, completely revolutionized the way the piano trio performed.<\/p>\n Born in Irvington, suburbs of Newark, New Jersey and raised in Geneva, upstate New York, Scotty first studied clarinet and saxophone at Ithaca College, soon he changed his instrument to bass. It seems that the existence of his father, professional violinist, and his respect and love for his father\u2019s passion for musical perfection, may have a major influence on this change to string instrument. He joined the Buddy Morrow Orchestra in late 1955, and he decided to leave it and live around Los Angeles until he returned to the East Coast jazz scene after finishing the gig with Benny Goodman Band in March 1959. Scotty\u2019s days in LA was the groundwork for his later accomplishments as bass player that have never seen before.<\/p>\n Bill, on the other hand, left Miles Davis Band\u00a0in November 1958, and was seeking for how his own trio should perform and who the members should be and in so doing he was playing for various players including Lee Konitz and Chet Baker. He even taught piano at the legendary Lenox School of Jazz <\/a>for three weeks in August 1959. He was definitely\u00a0 \u201csetting the pace\u201d. And there he is, Scotty was on board. The first trio of Bill, with Paul Motian\u00a0on drums, was fully equipped and played in Tony Scott\u2019s Sung Heroes on October that year. Interestingly, prior to Scotty joining Bill\u2019s trio, the bass player was Jimmy Garrison, who would be playing with John Coltrane.<\/p>\n