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CLARE FISCHER Out of the Blue Produced by Brent Fischer CLAVO RECORDS CR201509

1. Loves’ Walk [5:50]

2. Tema Do Boneco De Palha [4:25]

   (Theme of the Straw Doll)

3. When You Wish Upon A Star/ [7:58]

   Someday My Prince Will Come

4. Starbright [4:22]

5. Two For The Road [3:46]

6. Cascade of the Seven Waterfalls [6:26]

7. Out of the Blue [4:31]

8. Millbrae Walk [2:56]

9. Amor Em Paz [3:18]

10. Squatty Roo [5:24]

11. Nuages [5:51]

12. Novelho [4:11]

13. 49 (Larry Ford) [4:21]

14. Carnaval/A Felicidade/Samba De Orfeu [8:00]

    Dr. Clare Fischer- Keyboards

    Brent Fischer- Percussion, Bass

    Peter Erskine- Drums

    Mike Shapiro- Drums

    Denise Donatelli- Vocals

    John Proulx- Vocals

    TOTAL PLAYING TIME: [71:19]

     

    Clare Fischer (1928-2012) was an accomplished keyboardist and composer, primarily known as a progressive big band and Latin-jazz stylist. He was arranger and accompanist for the Hi-Los, a close harmony jazz quartet, before forming his Latin-jazz band, Salsa Picante. Clare also arranged orchestral music for many pop stars, including Prince, Michael Jackson, Robert Palmer, Celine Dion and Paul McCartney. Clare’s son Brent has added backgrounds to some of Clare’s recordings and produced this set ranging from solo numbers to quartets. Nuages, composed by Django Reinhardt, was first recorded by the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in 1940. Clare plays the piano with a soft touch, swaying the melody to a slow, sleepy rhythm, with drummer Peter Erskine delicately keeping time in the background. Alex Malheiros of the Brazilian band Azymuth composed the Bossa Nova tune Cascade of the Seven Waterfalls for their 1982 album Cascades. The song is named for a series of waterfalls located on the Parana River between Paraguay and Brazil. Clare performs on an electric keyboard, with drummer Mike Shapiro and Brent Fischer on electric bass. The song is well-played, but on this, as well as several other tunes, the keyboard loses the dynamics of the song and ends up sounding a bit sterile. A piano version of this number would be a welcome alternative. Another keyboard number is the flashy Brazilian tune Tema Do Boneco De Palha, a little-known gem composed by Vera Lelot, again featuring Mike Shapiro and Brent Fischer. One of my favorite numbers on this disc is the medley from the soundtrack of the 1959 film Black Orpheus. Clare performs the medley on piano with rich chords and dynamics, rhythmically flowing from one song to the next. Two songs, Samba De Orfeu andManha de Carnaval (also known as A Day In The Life of a Fool) were composed by Luiz Bofa and the third, A Felicidade, by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Clare beautifully demonstrates why they have become bossa nova standards.

    This music was recorded by Matthew Brownlie. Brent Fischer and Matthew Brownlie performed the editing and mixing. Mastering was performed by Steve Baughman and Mauricio Iragorri at Next Level Mastering. The sound quality is excellent. A six page booklet with credits and line notes by Brent Fischer is included.

    Bruce McCollum

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