From Integration of Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles in the Jazz Idiom Copyright 2004, Gerhard Guter CHAPTER 4 CLARE FISCHER

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1 From Integration of Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles in the Jazz Idiom Copyright 2004, Gerhard Guter CHAPTER 4 CLARE FISCHER In my opinion, Clare Fischer is the most important composer and arranger in jazz since Duke Ellington. Bill Dobbins Born 22 October 1928 in Durand, Michigan, Clare Fischer studied composition with H. Owen Reed, earning his bachelor s and master s degrees from Michigan State University. He has had an incredibly diverse musical career as a pianist, arranger, composer, and clinician. He has written music for orchestra, big band, vocal ensemble, and an array of smaller, more exotic groupings, including but not limited to his own Clarinet Choir, Jazz Corps, and Salsa Picante. When asked how he got interested in music, Fischer replied: I am pretty much a self taught person in everything. I taught myself how to play the cello at the age of twelve. I picked up the saxophone and clarinet the same way when I was about thirteen. And I ve always used that as my orchestrational studies. For instance, a year or so ago, I spent fifteen thousand dollars on a family of three-valved bugles and three of them were the exact same range. And there s no book that is written that talks to you about orchestrating for them, so I had to pick the instruments up and blow them and judge for myself which one was a logical extension of the other, etcetera, etcetera. That s sort of been the idea I ve gone with since I was twelve years of age. When I was in junior high, [it was] the man who was in charge of the orchestra in which I played the cello and also the band in which I played the bass clarinet occasionally. And then later on when I got into college, [it was] what turned out to be my composition professor but it was mostly a mentor type situation. Fortunately, I played the cello for twenty years, so that got me real well in with strings. I played just enough other instruments so that I have quite an idea what they re about which makes it easier to write for them. 21

2 I m not a singer per se myself although I spent three years singing in church choir when I was younger. And as a man studying at school, I sang in the chorus and other things and so I ve always enjoyed singing and that but I ve never been in a group so to speak where you had four people singing. There was a woman in my church choir who was a soprano soloist who was the ugliest person you have ever seen in your life and to watch her sing was almost enough to make you vomit, but she had such a lovely voice. This was in Michigan, in Grand Rapids, and I very much loved what she did. I came out here [Los Angeles] at the age of twenty eight and by the time that I was in my thirties, I was doing studio work. It put me again into a variety of things... I worked for him [Ralph Carmichael] for some twenty years or so and, as such, I had a chance to write for choir. 1 Fischer risked his job in order to have the opportunity to work for Gene Puerling and thereby became one of Puerling s longest running associates. He recalls: I was playing in Detroit... one of the few steady gigs in town. I heard that The Hi-Lo s were coming to a club in town called the Grand Avenue Lodge. I quit my gig at Men-Jo s to bring in a house trio there for ten days, hoping they would ask me to join them. When The Hi-Lo s appeared later and heard me, they offered me the job [in 1957] as their accompanist. 2 I was lucky in that I was working for five years as the accompanist for The Hi- Lo s and it was on that occasion that I wrote my first vocal arrangement which was the very popular Tenderly of the day... 3 About The Hi-Lo s style, Fischer notes: I like voice leading and things that make sense to me. Well, The Hi-Lo s did that. I think it struck me when I first heard something they did where they were all singing a tight cluster of some sort and suddenly spread out to over two 1 Clare Fischer, interview by author, 24 October 2003, by telephone, minidisc recording. 2 Clare Fischer; quoted in Bill Sinclair, Clare-Voyance, privately printed newsletter, May 1992, no. 3; 3. 3 Clare Fischer, interview by author. 22

3 octaves into the damndest voicing you ever heard, and they would sing it in tune. 4 Through 1962, Fischer composed and arranged several vocal charts for The Hi- Lo s and served as musical director and conductor as well. He penned the instrumental arrangements for The Hi-Lo s 1961 album This Time It s Love. Fischer had moved to Los Angeles with The Hi-Lo s and was doing studio work there by the time he was in his early thirties. He played keyboards on Feeling Free, a 1975 album by The Singers Unlimited, with arrangements by Patrick Williams. Fischer collaborated again with Gene Puerling as instrumental arranger and keyboardist on The Singers Unlimited 1976 album A Special Blend. He describes writing instrumentals for Puerling s vocals as being akin to fitting a puzzle 5 due to the intricate nature of Puerling s voicings. Fischer s trips to Europe for The Singers Unlimited mixing sessions resulted in a friendship with Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and, eventually, recording sessions of his own for the MPS record label. This also piqued interest in Fischer to write vocal group music of his own, which was later performed by his Two Plus Two ensemble. Clare Fischer has been noted for his harmonically rich style of writing. He says his harmonies are a result of his feelings. He likes voice leading in his writing and heard this sound in the music of The Hi-Lo s, whom he admired for their ability to sing so well in tune. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 23

4 Another very significant facet of Fischer s musical experience is the result of his involvement in jazz and Latin music from an early age. Having learned the Cuban style of Spanish in East Los Angeles from Afro-Cuban musicians, he is a strong believer in the singing of a song in its original language. Fischer, who also speaks some Portuguese, says that his experiences with Latin music have led him to feel close to the Latin ballad. Fischer wrote and arranged Dizzy Gillespie s Portrait of Duke Ellington (1960) and has received numerous Grammy nominations and several gold and platinum records. He has worked for, and/or with, names from such diverse ends of the musical spectrum as The Hi-Lo s, Dizzy Gillespie, Prince, Richard Stoltzman, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Branford Marsalis, and Brandy, to name only a few. When asked about musical influences, Fischer commented: I have to name Shostakovich, Béla Bartók. Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, those are my influences.... On the other hand, as a jazz musician, I ve gone through the Duke Ellington thing, and there were a lot of different players. The most influential in my life is an alto saxophonist called Lee Konitz. I was so enamored with the recordings that he did with the Gerry Mulligan Pianoless Quartet that I ended up taking many of his solos off, transcribing them, because I had to find out what the hell was going on. 6 Clare Fischer began developing his musical skills at a very early age, using his experiences playing various wind and string instruments as the basis for his orchestration studies. He continued to study orchestration for more obscure instruments by purchasing them and playing them himself, as was the case with his 1998 Jazz Corps 6 Clare Fischer, interview by author. 24

5 album, featuring three-valved bugles. Ultimately, twenty years of cello study contributed to Fischer s strong background in string writing. Fischer s diverse musical background has led him to write in a variety of styles for a plethora of instrumentations. His background in classical, jazz, and Latin music has led him to write for artists which span the spectrum of musical styles. He believes, Each medium changes the venue of what you have, the tenor. 7 He stands firm on his ethic of work: I wouldn t have done it [The Hi-Lo s This Time It s Love] unless I had complete control of what I was doing.... I ve always insisted that I have enough time to do what I do.if it s not me you want, then don t hire me.... It s difficult for them [other composers] to handle the real process so they re going for shortcuts [computers]. 8 He has formulated strong beliefs about his composition. Fischer has never been interested in writing parallel block harmonies. He writes at the piano as a means of putting together the harmonies 9 he wants for his voices. Writing for a specific person, rather than a specific instrument or voice, is imperative to Fischer, as it was to Duke Ellington. Fischer s music is an exploration of self: he writes harmonies as a result of feelings and acknowledges the importance of self growth in developing a personal style. Clare Fischer s music is an extension of his feelings and the product of a rich and varied musical background. He notes his own thoughts on his music: 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 25

6 I don t write one note unless it s something I feel. I do not write things in order to write harmonic voicings or what have you. The harmonies that I come up with are a result of what s inside of me trying to come out and enter a feeling Ibid. 26