29/09/2017 Clare Fischer - Wikipedia

Clare Fischer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012)[1] was an
Clare Fischer
American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After
graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades
later, he would receive an honorary doctorate), he became the pianist and
arranger for the vocal group the Hi-Lo's in the late 1950s. Fischer went on
to work with Donald Byrd and Dizzy Gillespie, and became known for his
Latin and bossa nova recordings in the 1960s. He composed the Latin jazz
standard "Morning", and the jazz standard "Pensativa". Consistently cited
by jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock as a major influence ("I
wouldn't be me without Clare Fischer"[3]), he was nominated for eleven
Grammy Awards during his lifetime, winning for his landmark album, 2+2
(1981), the first of Fischer's records to incorporate the vocal ensemble
writing developed during his Hi-Lo's days into his already sizable Latin
jazz discography; it was also the first recorded installment in Fischer's
three-decade-long collaboration with his son Brent. Fischer was also a
posthumous Grammy winner for ¡Ritmo! (2012) and for Music for Strings,
Percussion and the Rest (2013).

Beginning in the early 1970s, Fischer embarked on a parallel (and far more
lucrative) career, eventually becoming a much sought-after arranger,
providing orchestral "sweeteners" for pop and R&B artists such as Rufus Fischer photographed by William
(with Chaka Khan), Prince (a regular client from 1982 on, and by far Claxton, in excerpt from Fischer's
Fischer's most frequent in pop music), Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, article for November 1962 issue of
Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and many others. Down Beat.
Background information
Birth name Douglas Clare
Contents
Fischer[1]
1 Early life and education Born October 22, 1928
2 Initial employment Durand, Michigan,
3 Early career as a leader U.S.
4 Salsa Picante years
5 Later years: jazz inspiration and pop arranger Died January 26, 2012
6 Death (aged 83)
7 Awards and recognitions Los Angeles,
7.1 Grammy history California, U.S.
8 Discography
9 See also Genres Jazz, bossa nova,
10 Notes Afro-Cuban jazz,
11 References fusion, funk,
12 Further reading classical, third stream,
12.1 Articles vocal, pop
12.2 Books
13 External links Occupation(s) Composer, arranger,
13.1 Official Site bandleader, session
13.2 Audio musician
13.3 Video
Instruments Synthesizer, piano,
13.4 Miscellaneous
keyboards, electric
piano, alto sax
1943–2011[2]
Early life and education Years active
Labels Discovery, Koch,

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Fischer was the third of four children born to Cecil and Louella (Roussin) Trend, Pacific
Fischer of Durand, Michigan.[1][4] His parents were of German, French, Jazz/World Pacific,
Irish-Scot, and English backgrounds. In grade school he started his general Revelation, MPS,
music study with violin and piano as his first instruments. At the age of 7 Concord
he began to pick out four-part harmony on the piano. After two years of
piano lessons the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Fischer Associated acts The Hi-Lo's, Bud
began composing classical music and making instrumental arrangements Shank, Cal Tjader,
for dance bands. Prince, Robert Palmer
Website www.clarefischer
At South High School he took up cello, clarinet, and saxophone. His high
.com (http://www.clar
school instructor, Glenn Litton, took an interest in the boy and, because the
efischer.com/)
family could not afford it, gave him free lessons in music theory, harmony,
and orchestration. Fischer returned the favor by orchestrating and copying
music for him. Whenever the concert band needed an instrument, Fischer would be supplied with it and the
fingering chart to play it in concert. This gave him a personal training in orchestration that was invaluable.

Fischer started his own band at 15, for which he wrote all the arrangements.[2] After graduating in 1946, he began
undergraduate studies in 1947 at Michigan State University, majoring in music composition and theory, and
studying with H. Owen Reed. During his teens there were no funds for him to study piano, so he was mostly self-
taught. Therefore his major instrument in college was cello, and piano a minor. Later he changed his major to
piano and minor in clarinet.

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.[5]

Fischer graduated in 1951 with a B.M., cum laude, and began his first year of graduate work in composition. The
U.S. Army drafted him the next year, sending him to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training. There he
played alto saxophone in the band and ended his service as an arranger at the U.S. Military Academy Band at West
Point, N.Y. After the army, Fischer returned to Michigan State. In 1955 he received his Master of Music.

Initial employment
Fischer next lived in Detroit, Michigan, whereupon, after first hearing the vocal quartet The Hi-Lo's in a live
performance, he promptly offered his services. Over the next five years, Fischer recorded several albums with the
group, serving as pianist and, on occasion, arranger. In addition, he contributed several vocal arrangements,
making his debut in that capacity; it was these arrangements that Herbie Hancock would later point to as a major
influence:

[T]hat's when I really learned some much farther-out voicings - like the harmonies I used on Speak
Like a Child - just being able to do that. I really got that from Clare Fischer's arrangements for the Hi-
Lo's. Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept...[6] I heard some of his last
records, and he was still doing amazing harmonic stuff. And, of course, he was a wonderful pianist,
too. But it was those vocal harmonies that were the first thing I heard. I was in awe of him.[3]

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When Fischer 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 Modesto Duran as leader and played with many different groups. On November
2, 1959, he made a particularly fruitful connection within this genre when he appeared with the Hi-lo's at the First
Annual Los Angeles Jazz Festival on the same bill with the already popular Latin jazz group led by vibraphonist
Cal Tjader. Both his playing and arranging made an immediate impression on Tjader,[7] who went on to employ
Fischer in both capacities on several recordings over the next three years; the two would reunite in the mid-
seventies, leading eventually to the formation of Fischer's own Latin jazz unit, Salsa Picante.

In 1961, Fischer became interested in Brazilian music through the recordings of Elizete Cardoso and Joao
Gilberto. This discovery, coupled with his introduction to the music of Mexican composer Mario Ruiz Armengol,
led to Fischer's subsequent collaboration with Cal Tjader, a 1962 LP devoted jointly to Armengol's music and that
of assorted contemporary Brazilian composers.[8] Over the following year, Fischer collaborated on two Bossa
Nova-themed LPs with saxophonist Bud Shank, and arranged another for pianist George Shearing.

While with The Hi-Lo's, Fischer arranged a record by trumpeter Donald Byrd, which, by virtue of Fischer's use of
strings and harps, imbued well-known standards with an unaccustomed, melancholic quality. Although it would be
twenty-five years before the album was finally released, September Afternoon paid immediate dividends when
Byrd played a copy for Dizzy Gillespie. In turn, Gillespie hired Fischer to write arrangements for a small ensemble
featuring brass and woodwinds for his own album, A Portrait of Duke Ellington, which was well received. In 1960
albums for vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist George Shearing followed, as did an eight-year career of writing
music for commercials, as well as the signing of Fischer's first record contract.

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".[5]

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.

Salsa Picante years

In 1975, after ten years of studiowork and artistically successful yet obscure solo records, Fischer found a new
direction. Just like Hancock and Chick Corea he was a pioneer on the electric keyboard, and in that capacity he
joined vibraphonist Cal Tjader's group. The reunion with Tjader gave a new impulse to Fischer's love of Latin-
American music. He started his own group with Latino musicians, "Salsa Picante", which showed great
eclecticism in musical styles. Later he expanded to include four vocalists billed separately as "2 + 2".

The album 2+2 won a Grammy in 1981. After that he recorded And Sometimes Voices and Free Fall with the
vocal group. Free Fall was nominated in three categories for the Grammy Awards and won under the category of
"Best Jazz Album By A Vocal Duo Or Group". Crazy Bird was with the instrumental group and Alone Together, a
solo piano album recorded on a Hamburg Steinway. It was recorded for Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and the
German company MPS Records.

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In the seventies, Fischer began doing orchestral sweeteners for R&B groups. His nephew, André Fischer, was the
drummer of the band Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. "Apparently the arrangements I made for their early records
were appreciated, for in the following years I was hired almost exclusively by black artists."[5] Among the artists
Fischer worked for are The Jacksons, Earl Klugh, Switch, Debarge, Shotgun (a late 70s offshoot of 24-Carat
Black) and Atlantic Starr. His walls are now covered with gold and platinum records from these recordings,
Grammy Award Nominations, and several NARAS MVP Awards, culminating in an MVP-emeritus in 1985.

Once his fame as an arranger was established, Fischer also worked with pop musicians like Paul McCartney,
Prince, Celine Dion and Robert Palmer. "I am surprised that my arrangements are now considered one of the
prerequisites for a hit album. People feel that they make a song sound almost classical."[5]

Classical concert artist Richard Stoltzman commissioned him in 1983 to write a symphonic work using Duke
Ellington and Billy Strayhorn themes. The result, "The Duke, Swee'pea and Me", an eleven and a half minute
orchestral work, was performed with a symphony orchestra and Stoltzman on clarinet all around the world.[9]

Later years: jazz inspiration and pop arranger

Since 1982 Fischer wrote orchestral arrangements for pop artist Prince. Some appeared on Prince's albums and
have been used for his movies Under the Cherry Moon (Fischer's first screen credit), Graffiti Bridge and in Spike
Lee's Girl 6. One of Fischer's Prince arrangements was also used in a revised form for the movie Batman. Prince's
December 2005 single "Te Amo Corazon," a mid-tempo Latin jazz track, featured string arrangements by Fischer.

More recently, as a jazz educator, Fischer performed solo piano concerts and conducted clinics and master classes
in universities and music conservatories in Europe and throughout the United States. In 1995 Just Me came out, a
Concord Jazz CD with Fischer on solo piano. Featuring his Latin-jazz group and six singers, now referred to as
"Clare Fischer & Friends", a JVC Music CD was released in 1997 called Rockin' In Rhythm.

Two gifted Dutch jazz pianists, Cor Bakker and Bert van den Brink, recorded the homage DeClared (1993) which
contains nine Fischer compositions. Five years later recordings made in 1991 and 1997 with The Netherlands
Metropole Orchestra led by Rob Pronk and Vince Mendoza came out as The Latin Side. Another notable recent
CD with Clare is a re-issue of Art Pepper's Tokyo Debut on Galaxy (1995).

Fischer continued to write for Prince and many other renowned artists including Michael Jackson before his death,
Amy Grant, Brazilian artist João Gilberto (João), Paula Abdul, Natalie Cole and more recently Chaka Khan and
Branford Marsalis.

With his commercial work Fischer financed a costly band of twenty brass instruments, called "Clare Fischer's Jazz
Corps". The recordings of this band contain an interesting arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado".
"The death of my friend Tom Jobim has affected me deeply. Like me he was 68, and I am still alive. After he died
I had a dream in which I was conducting his 'Corcovado'. Only it was not a normal version, there were these
harmonic countermelodies in the bass. When I awoke I wrote down what I had dreamed. It became Jobim's In
Memoriam, a piece I called 'Corcovado Fúnebre.'"[5]

One of Fischer's last projects in his own name was a recording with Brazilian guitarist Hélio Delmiro called
"Symbiosis" which has been released on a "Clare Fischer Productions" recording as has his Clare Fischer's Jazz
Corps recording.

In December 1999, Michigan State University School of Music conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts
Degree on Fischer in recognition of his "creativity and excellence as a jazz composer, arranger and performer".

On October 22, 2009, Manhattan School of Music's Concert Jazz Band, under the direction of Justin DiCoccio,
commemorated two Clare Fischer anniversaries - both his 81st birthday and the 40th anniversary of the release of
his well-regarded big band LP, Thesaurus - with a concert whose program concluded with five consecutive
arrangements culled from that album. FIttingly, the five-tune sequence both began and ended, much like the album
itself, with "The Duke" and "Upper Manhattan Medical Group," respectively,[a][10] Fischer's tributes to his twin

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jazz inspirations, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.[b] Fischer could not attend the tribute; following a medical
emergency on the flight home from a family reunion in Michigan the previous year, the family had decided that air
travel was "just too stressful."[12]

Death
On January 8, 2012, Fischer suffered a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, following a minor surgery a few days before.
His wife of 18 years, Donna, was at his side and performed CPR.[13] He remained in ICU on life support, and died
on January 26, 2012. He was survived by his wife; three children, Lee, Brent and Tahlia; and two stepchildren,
Lisa and Bill Bachman.[14]

Awards and recognitions

Grammy history

Career Wins: 3[15]

Career Nominations: 13

Year Category Title Genre Label Result

Best Instrumental Arrangement

1976 "Green Dolphin Street" from Feeling Free Jazz Pausa Nominee
Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Best Instrumental Arrangement

1981 "Du Du" from 2+2 Latin Discovery Nominee
Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or

1981 "Du Du" from 2+2 Latin Discovery Nominee
More Voices

1981 Best Latin Recording "Guajira Pa La Jeva" from 2+2 Latin Discovery Winner

Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or "One Night in a Dream" from And Sometimes
1982 Jazz Discovery Nominee
More Voices Voices

Best Arrangement on an
1982 Instrumental Recording (with Earl "Balladina" from Crazy for You Pop EMI Nominee
Klugh and Ronnie Foster)

Best Jazz Instrumental

1984 Whose Woods Are These? Jazz Discovery Nominee
Performance By a Group

Best Instrumental Arrangement

1986 "Free Fall" from Free Fall Jazz Discovery Nominee
Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Best Jazz Fusion Performance –

1986 "Free Fall" from Free Fall Jazz Discovery Nominee
Vocal or Instrumental

Best Instrumental Arrangement "In the Still of the Night" from Lost In the
1996 Jazz Teldec Nominee
Accompanying Vocalist(s) Stars

Clare
2011 Best Instrumental Arrangement "In the Beginning" from Continuum Jazz Fischer Nominee
Productions

Winner
Clare (jointly
Latin
2012 Best Latin Jazz Album Ritmo Fischer with
jazz
Productions Brent
Fischer)

"Pensiamento for Solo Alto Saxophone and Clare

2013 Best Instrumental Composition Chamber Orchestra" from Music for Strings, Classical Fischer Winner
Percussion and the Rest Productions

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Discography

First Time Out (Pacific Jazz,
1962)
Bossa Nova Jazz Samba
(Pacific Jazz, 1962) with Bud
Shank
Brasamba! (Pacific Jazz, 1963)
with Bud Shank and Joe Pass
Surging Ahead (Pacific Jazz,
1963)
Extension (Pacific Jazz, 1963)
So Danço Samba (Pacific Jazz,
1964)
Manteca! (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
Easy Livin' (Revelation, 1966)
Songs for Rainy Day Lovers Alone Together (1980)
(Columbia, 1967) 2+2 (1981)
One to Get Ready, Four to Go Machaca (1981)
(Revelation, 1968) Introspectivo (2005)
Thesaurus (Atlantic, 1969)
Report of the 1st Annual
Symposium on Relaxed
Improvisation (Revelation,
1973)
The State of His Art (1976)
Clare Declares (1977)
Salsa Picante (1980)

See also
Brent Fischer
Dirk Fischer

Notes
a. Much, but not exactly, like. In fact, Fischer's dynamic and uptempo arrangement of Strayhorn's "UMMG" is
the album's next to last track, but what follows – the somber "In Memoriam," written for the fallen Kennedy
brothers – is so far removed from the rest of the album, containing neither percussion nor improvisation and
clocking in at well under two minutes, that it plays more like a postscript than part of the album proper.
b. As Fischer himself told Leonard Feather 42 years ago earlier (after having heard a track from Ellington's
Far East Suite in the course of taking Down Beat's Blindfold Test), "Anything he plays is a work of art... I
can't think of anybody I admire more than this man; nobody could even be compared with him, except Billy
Strayhorn."[11]

References

1. Heckman, Don. "Clare Fischer dies at 83; versatile pianist, composer, arranger" (http://articles.latimes.com/
2012/jan/28/local/la-me-clare-fischer-20120128). The Los Angeles Times. January 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-
02-19.
2. "Former Durand Boy Orchestra Leader At Age of 15" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z-UiAAAA
IBAJ&sjid=UqsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3126,1784317&dq). The Owosso Argus-Press. December 13, 1943.
Retrieved 2013-02-21.
3. Hancock, Herbie; as told to Michael J. West. "Herbie Hancock Remembers Clare Fischer" (http://jazztimes.c
om/articles/76522-herbie-hancock-remembers-clare-fischer). JazzTimes. April 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-
24.
4. "Obituaries: Suzanne Wellnitz" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6EEiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R60FAA
AAIBAJ&pg=3865,3717879&dq). The Owosso Argus-Press. April 15, 2005. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
5. Clare Fischer, Artist Interviews. (http://www.artistinterviews.eu/?page_id=5=22/) Retrieved 12 February
2012.
6. Coryell, Julie; Friedman, Laura (1978). "Herbie Hancock" (https://books.google.com/books?id=2bMQAQA
AMAAJ&q=Clare+Fischer+Herbie+intitle:Jazz-Rock+intitle:Fusion&dq). Jazz-Rock Fusion. The People,
The Music. New York: Dell Publishing Co. ISBN 0-440-04187-2, page 161-162. Retrieved 2013-05-24.

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7. Reid, S. Duncan. "Tjader Plays Mambo and Tjazz" (https://books.google.com/books?id=oQo3AAAAQBAJ

&pg=PA91&dq=%22first+annual+Los+Angeles+Jazz+Festival%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PcVkVOTjCfe_sQS
g0IHYAQ&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22first%20annual%20Los%20Angeles%20Jazz%20Fe
stival%22&f=false). Cal Tjader: The Life and Recordings of the Man Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz.
Jefferson, NC. McFarland & Company. pp. 91-93. ISBN 978-0-7864-3535-7. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
8. Liner notes for Cal Tjader Plays The Contemporary Music Of Mexico And Brazil, 1962
9. Jackson, Grant. "Clare Fischer On Piano Jazz" (http://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151534340/clare-fischer-on-
piano-jazz). NPR Music. April 27, 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
10. "{Concert of October 22, 2009} {sound recording} (Musical CD, 2009)" (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/498
385998). Worldcat. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
11. Feather, Leonard. "Clare Fischer / Blindfold Test" (http://www.mediafire.com/view/?5jspkydxsot4j#). Down
Beat. October 19, 1967. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
12. Email correspondence with Donna Fischer. May 8, 2013.
13. "Grammy-Winner Clare Fischer Hospitalized at 83 Concert at Vitello's" (http://www.studioexpresso.com/ne
ws/clarefischerhospitalized.htm). studioexpresso.com. 16 January 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
14. "BBC News - Composer Clare Fischer dies at 83" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-1675613
9). bbc.co.uk. 27 January 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
15. Past Winners: Clare Fischer (http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=%22Clare+Fischer%22&fiel
d_nominee_work_value=&year=All&genre=All). Grammy.com. Retrieved 2014-12-03.

Further reading
Articles

"Former Durand Boy Orchestra Leader At Age of 15" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z-UiAAAA

IBAJ&sjid=UqsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3126,1784317&dq). The Owosso Argus-Press. December 13, 1943.
Fischer, Clare. (with Feather, Leonard). "Clare Fischer – Blindfold Test" (http://www.mediafire.com/view/fi
x6ane8h54gx/Clare_Fischer#rjvay58eo774rhe). Down Beat. October 25, 1962. p. 39.
Fischer, Clare. "On Bossa Nova" (http://www.mediafire.com/view/fix6ane8h54gx/Clare_Fischer#3f6344g3c
shffpj). Down Beat. November 8, 1962. p. 23.
"Jazz Pianist to Set Up Method Workshop on Coast" (https://books.google.com/books?id=2EQEAAAAMB
AJ&pg=PA6&dq#v=onepage&q&f=true). Billboard. February 8, 1964.
Thompson, Robert Farris. "Clare Fischer: The Pan-American Way" (http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1
964nov28-00046). Saturday Review. November 28, 1964. pp. 46–47.
"Students Invited To Jazz Festival" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yk4xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FeYF
AAAAIBAJ&pg=6199,6247275&dq=clare+fischer&hl=en). The Lawrence Journal-World. November 30,
1965.
"Brief Solos" (https://books.google.com/books?id=zCcEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12&dq=%22Donte's+Club+i
n+North+Hollywood%22+intitle:Billboard&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7r4NUtXKLeSIygGr24FI&ved=0CDAQ6A
EwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Donte's%20Club%20in%20North%20Hollywood%22%20intitle%3ABillboard
&f=true). Billboard. July 1, 1967.
Fischer, Clare. (with Feather, Leonard). "Clare Fischer – Blindfold Test" (http://www.mediafire.com/view/fi
x6ane8h54gx/Clare_Fischer#2nmgk677qzm4cnu). Down Beat. October 19, 1967. p. 38.
Moody, Lois. "Moody's Jazz: Latin Rhythms Add Color" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uaMyA
AAAIBAJ&sjid=8u4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1958,1717623&dq=clare+fischer&hl=en). The Ottawa Citizen.
November 23, 1979.
"Big-band Fans Get A Treat" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fodkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rH4NAAAA
IBAJ&pg=2595,3454128&dq). The Calgary Herald. February 26, 1983.
"College Guest" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Sx1ZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hUYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=
2427,4210589&dq). The Sonora Union Democrat. February 22, 1984.
Locklin, Lydia. "College Jazz Series: Latin Salsa Of Clare Fischer A Complement To Jazz Show" (https://ne
ws.google.com/newspapers?id=tB1ZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p0YNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4892,2511321&dq). The
Sonora Union Democrat. November 21, 1986.
Stewart, Zan. "He Arranges, Composes, Performs : Fischer: A Renaissance Man Of Music" (http://articles.la
times.com/1987-05-14/entertainment/ca-8949_1_clare-fischer). The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1987.
Liska, James. "Jazz Review : 2+2: Challenge Plus Wit Found Friday At Le Cafe" (http://articles.latimes.co
m/1987-05-18/entertainment/ca-439_1_jazz-review). The Los Angeles Times. May 18, 1987.

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29/09/2017 Clare Fischer - Wikipedia

Wilson, John S. "Critics' Choice: Jazz" (https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/18/arts/critics-choices-

jazz.html). The New York Times. October 18, 1987.
Wilson, John S. "Jazz: Clare Fischer, Pianist, at Weill Hall" (https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/25/arts/jazz-
clare-fischer-pianist-at-weill-hall.html). The New York Times. October 25, 1987.
Heckman, Don. "Jazz Reviews: Fischer and Friends Stir It Up at Le Cafe" (http://articles.latimes.com/1988-
09-26/entertainment/ca-1725_1_brent-fischer). The Los Angeles Times. September 26, 1988.
Stewart, Zan. "Musicians Set for Clare Fischer Tribute; `Boatful of Blues' on L.A. Harbor Cruise" (http://arti
cles.latimes.com/1989-10-25/entertainment/ca-576_1_clare-fischer). The Los Angeles Times. October 25,
1989.
Heckman, Don. "JAZZ REVIEW: Star Performers at Fischer Tribute" (http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-3
1/entertainment/ca-328_1_clare-fischer). The Los Angeles Times. October 31, 1989.
Feather, Leonard. "JAZZ REVIEW: A Coming-Out Party for Fischer" (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-2
3/entertainment/ca-546_1_clare-fischer) The Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1990.
Feather, Leonard. "JAZZ REVIEW: Fischer, Trotter Lead a Five-Star Set" (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-
07-12/entertainment/ca-218_1_fischer-trotter-jazz) The Los Angeles Times. July 12, 1990.
"College to Stage Latin Jazz Shows" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eydZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ckc
NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4071,690970&dq). The Sonora Union Democrat. February 7, 1992.
Heckman, Don. "Fischer: a Ferocious Teddy Bear : Pianist Says He's Soft and Cuddly--When You Stay on
His Good Side" (http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-03/entertainment/ca-1426_1_teddy-bear). The Los
Angeles Times. July 3, 1992.
Stewart, Zan. "Horizon Reaching for New Horizons: Saxophonist Bobby Watson's group makes its L.A.
debut; Critic's Choice" (http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-26/entertainment/ca-15252_1_saxophonist-bobb
y-watson). The Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1993.
"Sightings & Signings: Clare Fischer Recently Returned From a Tour" (https://books.google.com/books?id=
tScEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18&dq=%22Clare+Fischer%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Dw6hVbjBLor2-AGtro-QAg
&ved=0CBoQ6AEwADhQ#v=onepage&q=%22Clare%20Fischer%22&f=false). JazzTimes. June 1997.
De Haan, Maarten. "Clare Fischer: The Best Kept Secret in Jazz" (http://www.artistinterviews.eu/?page_id=
5&parent_id=22/). Artist Interviews. 1998.
Jolley, Craig. "Meet Clare Fischer" (http://cdassassin.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/1999-interview-at-allabout
jazz-com/). All About Jazz. March 1999.
Rideout, Ernie. "Master Class: Voicing with a Heart". Keyboard. August 2000. pp. 54–56, 58, 60, 62.
Heckman, Don. "Piano-Guitar Duo a Marvel of Subtlety" (http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/01/entertain
ment/ca-31593). The Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2001.
Phelps, Boyd. "Clare Fischer: An Interview With Clare Fischer". Jazz Player. April 2001. pp. 25–30.
Heckman, Don. "A Star Turn for the 'Secondary' Clarinet: Clare Fischer's deft ensemble showcases the
musical virtues of the woodwind" (http://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/11/entertainment/et-heckman11).
The Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2003.
Heckman, Don. "Drawing new 'Pictures at an Exhibition': Brent Fischer ably translates the classic piece into
a new big-band aesthetic" (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/12/entertainment/et-fischer12). The Los
Angeles Times. September 12, 2007.
Hancock, Herbie; as told to Michael J. West. "Herbie Hancock Remembers Clare Fischer" (http://jazztimes.c
om/articles/76522-herbie-hancock-remembers-clare-fischer). JazzTimes. April 5, 2013.

Books
Fischer, Clare (1973). Harmonic Exercises for Piano. Sherman Oaks, CA: Gwyn Publishing Co.
Reprinted as:

Fischer, Clare (1996). Harmonic Exercises for Piano. Rottenburg, DE: Advance Music.
ASIN B008OHVRU8 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OHVRU8).

Zegree, Stephen L. (1989). A comparative and analytical study of the procedures used by Gene Puerling,
Phil Mattson, and Clare Fischer in writing an a cappella arrangement of a popular American song. PhD
diss. Kansas City: University of Missouri.
Hinz, Robert Kurtis (1998). Aspects of harmony and voice leading in four solo piano performances by Clare
Fischer. PhD diss. New York: New York University.
Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (1999). "Fischer, Clare D. [sic]". The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=ma1BpsFE1WoC&pg=PA225&dq#v=onepage&q&f=true). New York:
Oxford University Press. pp. 225–226. ISBN 0-19-507418-1.
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29/09/2017 Clare Fischer - Wikipedia

Fischer, Clare; Coker, Jerry; Dobbins, Bill (2000). The Music of Clare Fischer, Volume 1. Rottenburg, DE:
Advance Music.
Fischer, Clare; Foster, Gary; Dobbins, Bill (2004). The Music of Clare Fischer, Volume 2. Rottenburg, DE:
Advance Music.
Guter, Gerhard K. (2004). Chapter 4 (https://web.archive.org/web/20141107110232/http://www.gutermusic.
com/Site/Workshop_files/CHAPTER%204_Clare%20Fischer_GUTER.pdf). Integration of Vocal and
Instrumental Ensembles in the Jazz Idiom. M.M. thesis. Long Beach; California State University.
Hamilton, Andy; Konitz, Lee (2007). "Early Collaborators". Lee Konitz: Conversations On the Improviser's
Art (https://books.google.com/books?id=pc4CsgVHLw0C&pg=PA64&dq=%22Clare+Fischer%22+intitle:L
ee+intitle:Konitz&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=true). University of Michigan Press. pp. 64–66. ISBN 0-472-
03217-8.
Foster, Christopher N. (2011). Using Clare Fischer's solo piano approach in 'Yesterdays' to reinterpret Jazz
standard repertoire (http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=theses_hons&sei-redir=
1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Danalysis%2520cl
are%2520fischer%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D7%26ved%3D0CFkQFjAG%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252
F%252Fro.ecu.edu.au%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1036%2526context%253Dthese
s_hons%26ei%3DqqGrUdW7B-7e4AOL4YCgDg%26usg%3DAFQjCNHnbUjgv816T_L79cDwLVg2ERX
sFw%26sig2%3DqgbELUr4u-dk-yz9VLyntA#search=%22analysis%20clare%20fischer%22). PhD diss.
Perth, AU: Edith Cowan University.

External links
Official Site

Clare Fischer's Website (http://www.clarefischer.com/)

Audio

Clare Fischer (http://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151534340/clare-fischer-on-piano-jazz?sc=emaf) on Marian

McPartland's Piano Jazz
Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Gaviota" (http://www.stevekhan.com/gaviota_a.htm) (Soundclip,
plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Once Again" (http://www.stevekhan.com/fischera.htm) (Soundclip,
plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
Clare Fischer's solo Rhodes intro on "Where Is Love" (http://www.stevekhan.com/clarewherea.htm)
(Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
Island at the Top of the World (Disneyland Records, ST-3814) (http://www.mousevinyl.com/content/island-t
op-world-disneyland-records) at MouseVinyl.com
Escape to Witch Island (Disneyland Records, ST-3809) (http://www.mousevinyl.com/content/escape-witch-
mountain-disneyland-records) at MouseVinyl.com

Video
Clare Fischer's informal clinic (conducted in October 1998) (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPPJ9
g3R1zivGkd__ZyOnlS5YsWTR-XEV) on YouTube
2005 Red Bull Academy interview with Brent & Clare Fischer (http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectu
res/clare-and-brent-fischer--keep-it-in-the-family) on Vimeo
Herbie Hancock discussing Clare Fischer in April 2012 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoJ2SfM3Mxo
&list=PLPPJ9g3R1ziuW48RCu9FQ4puus2YRT—3) on YouTube
Fischeresque: Applying Clare Fischer's Musical Style to a Solo Piano Performance of a Jazz Standard (http
s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW5kSu9F4Hk) (Lecture recital by Nick Weiser at the Eastman School of
Music) on Youtube

Miscellaneous

Clare Fischer holdings (http://www.darmstadt.de/kultur/musik/jazz/Jazzindex/Fischer_Clare.pdf) at the

Jazzinstitut Darmstadt (http://www.darmstadt.de/kultur/musik/jazz/neue_website/?lang=en)

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29/09/2017 Clare Fischer - Wikipedia

Clare Fischer (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278857/) on IMDb

List of compositions (http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?page=1&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&bl
nArtist=True&fromrow=1&torow=25&affiliation=BMI&cae=10284334&keyID=112881&keyname=FISC
HER%20CLARE&querytype=WriterID) at BMI
Clare Fischer (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=101714944) at Find a Grave

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