Clare Fischer - Early Career As A Leader

Early Career As A Leader

The first recording under his own name began in 1962 for Pacific Jazz Records: "First Time Out", "Surging Ahead", "Manteca" and "Extension", plus recordings with Bud Shank and Joe Pass. These early records are meticulous studies in jazz, bossa nova and mambo, with the harmonic depth of Bach, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. They were well received by the critics, but commercially not very successful. Fischer presented himself both as pianist and arranger and composed his most famous pieces, "Pensativa" and "Morning". His many talents, however, proved a disadvantage.

Whenever I played with a trio, people said: 'Fischer owes a lot to Bill Evans'. Who I had never heard playing. My big musical example at the time was Lee Konitz. And when I orchestrated a record it was Gil Evans, the arranger, that I copied. I called this my "Evans Brothers syndrome".

Arrangements for Sérgio Mendes, Willy Ruff and others followed. In the sixties Fischer began playing the organ again, having studied the pipe organ at sixteen. He began to record on a Hammond B-3 for Pacific and on an album by Cal Tjader, Soña Libre. Years later, Fischer would record "T'DAAA" (1972) which showcased his skill on the Yamaha EX-42 and "Clare Declares" (1977) which once again featured the pipe organ.

Fischer's roommates at the Michigan State University were Latin Americans, as were the majority of his friends outside the music department. He was introduced to the music of Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Machito and others. Through his friends he became interested in the Spanish language and took it as a minor on his Masters Degree. Fischer's passion for music was always matched by his love of languages. "The average person has about a fifteen percent understanding of a foreign language. He knows what language it is and is familiar with one or two words. With music it is not different. Most people only hear the lyrics to a song or feel the beat. I have always made music for good listeners, with 65 to eighty percent of musical understanding. That is why with my vocal sextet all pieces are sung in the original language, whether that is German, Spanish or Japanese."

When he moved to Hollywood in 1958, he went to East L.A. to play and learn more about Latin-Jazz. He started in a charanga group with Modesta Duran as leader and played with many different groups.

During this period Fischer became interested in Brazilian music through the recordings of Elizete Cardoso, for whom he wrote the standard "Elizete". Allegedly he cut the very first American Bossa Nova record for Cal Tjader. His liner notes illustrate how uncommon it was that Fischer tried to get people to dance to something other than the twist:

Last spring I was introduced to a friend of bassist Ralph Peña he talked to us about a new kind of music that was being played in Brazil called the 'Bossa Nova' which in slang terms might be like saying 'the new bag' or 'new aptitude'. The rhythms were so infectious that, even though I usually don't dance much myself, I felt compelled to respond and found myself dancing away several hours.