Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an 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 Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which ...

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning s ...

", 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"Hancock, Herbie; as told to Michael J. West
"Herbie Hancock Remembers Clare Fischer"
''JazzTimes''. April 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-24.), 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 Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

(with Chaka Khan),

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

(a regular client from 1984 onwards, and by far Fischer's most frequent in pop music), Robert Palmer,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and many others.

Early life and education

Fischer was the third of four children born to Cecil and Louella (Roussin) Fischer of Durand, Michigan, United States. His parents were of German, French, Irish-Scot, and English backgrounds. In grade school he started his general music study with violin and piano as his first instruments. At the age of seven, he began to pick out four-part harmony on the piano. After two years of piano lessons the family moved to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, where Fischer began composing classical music and making instrumental arrangements for dance bands. At South High School he took up cello, clarinet, and saxophone. His high school instructor, Glenn Litton, took an interest in the boy and, because the 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. 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 Herbert Owen Reed (June 17, 1910 – January 6, 2014) was an American composer, conductor, and author. Personal life Reed was raised in rural Odessa, Missouri, where his first exposure to music was his father's playing of the old-time fiddle ...

. 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 Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

Tito Rodriguez Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

, 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.

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 Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

, 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, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

. After the army, Fischer returned to Michigan State. In 1955, he received his Master of Music.

Initial employment

Fischer next lived in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, 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.{{cite book, title= The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, editor= Colin Larkin, publisher= Guinness Publishing, date=1992, edition=First, isbn=0-85112-939-0, page=865 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:

at'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...Coryell, Julie; Friedman, Laura (1978)
"Herbie Hancock"
''Jazz-Rock Fusion. The People, The Music''. New York: Dell Publishing Co. {{ISBN, 0-440-04187-2, page 161-162. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 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.

When Fischer moved to Hollywood in 1958, he went to East Los Angeles, 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 Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

. Both his playing and arranging made an immediate impression on Tjader,Reid, S. Duncan
"Tjader Plays Mambo and Tjazz"
''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. who went on to employ Fischer in both capacities on several recordings over the next three years; the two would reunite in the mid-1970s, 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 Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil. Biography Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...

and Joao Gilberto. This discovery, coupled with his introduction to the music of Mexican composer

Mario Ruiz Armengol Mario Ruiz Armengol (known as "Mayito" or "Mister Harmony") (March 14, 1914 in Veracruz, Mexico – December 22, 2002 in Cancun, Mexico), was a Mexican pianist, composer, arranger, conductor and music teacher. He was the son of pianist and cond ...

, 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. Over the following year, Fischer collaborated on two Bossa Nova-themed LPs with saxophonist

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

, and arranged another for pianist

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

. 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

and pianist

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 1961 with a nonet under the album name ''Jazz.'' He later recorded these for Pacific Jazz Records: '' First Time Out'', '' Surging Ahead'', '' Manteca!'' and '' Extension'', plus recordings with

and Joe Pass. These early records are meticulous studies in jazz, bossa nova and mambo, with the harmonic depth of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, 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 Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...
, the arranger, that I copied. I called this my "Evans Brothers syndrome".

Arrangements for

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

, Willy Ruff and others followed. In the 1960s, Fischer began playing the organ again, having studied the pipe organ at sixteen. He began to record on a

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

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 studio work 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 Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

. It was recorded for Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and the German company MPS Records. In the 1970s, Fischer began doing orchestral sweeteners for R&B groups. His nephew, André Fischer, was the drummer of the band

, 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." Among the artists Fischer worked for are The Jacksons,

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fin ...

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

Debarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

, Shotgun (a late 70s offshoot of 24-Carat Black) and

Atlantic Starr Atlantic Starr is an American band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits " Always", "Secret Lovers", "Send for Me", "Circles", "Silver Shadow" and "Masterpiece". History Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York w ...

. His walls are now covered with gold and platinum records from these recordings,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

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 such as

, 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."Clare Fischer
Artistinterviews.eu, Retrieved 12 February 2012. 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.

Later years: jazz inspiration and pop arranger

Starting in 1985, Fischer wrote orchestral arrangements for pop artist

. Fischer's arrangements appeared both on Prince's albums and in the Prince film soundtrack music for ''

Under the Cherry Moon ''Under the Cherry Moon'' is a 1986 romantic musical comedy-drama film starring Prince and marking his directorial debut. The film also stars former The Time member Jerome Benton, Steven Berkoff, Kristin Scott Thomas (in her feature film debut) ...

'' (Fischer's first screen credit), '' Graffiti Bridge'', '' Batman'' and '' Girl 6''. Prince's 2005 single " Te Amo Corazon," a mid-tempo Latin jazz track, is one example of his collaboration with Fischer. 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 Fischer released the solo jazz piano album ''Just Me'' on the Concord Jazz label. In 1997, his Latin-jazz group, which featured six singers, released the album ''Rockin' In Rhythm'' on the JVC Music label. In 1993, the Dutch jazz pianists Cor Bakker and Bert van den Brink recorded an album of Fischer compositions together entitled ''DeClared''. In 1998, the album ''The Latin Side'', which also featured Fischer compositions, was released by The Netherlands

Metropole Orchestra The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

(led by Rob Pronk and

Vince Mendoza Vince Mendoza (born November 17, 1961) is an American composer, music arranger and conductor, and six-time Grammy Award winner. He debuted as a solo artist in 1989, and is known for his work conducting the Metropole Orkest and WDR Big Band K� ...

). Another notable recent CD with Clare is a re-issue of Art Pepper's ''Tokyo Debut'' on Galaxy (1995). In addition to his work with Prince, Fischer provided arrangements for

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was of ...

, Paula Abdul,

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, Chaka Khan and Branford Marsalis. This work enabled Fischer to record his own music with a band of twenty brass instruments called "Clare Fischer's Jazz Corps". The recordings of this band contain an arrangement of

Antonio Carlos Jobim Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ma ...

's "

Corcovado Corcovado (korcovádo) which means "hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a 710-metre (2,329 ft) granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the c ...

". Fischer said of Jobim that " e death of my friend

Tom Jobim Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

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 music, (German for ''primary voice'') or is the main voice, chief part; i.e., the contrapuntal or melodic line of primary importance, in opposition to . (German for ''secondary voice'') or is the secondary part; i.e., a secondary contrap ...

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.'" 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 A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea: Synonym dictionar ...

'' - 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,{{#tag:ref, 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., group=lower-alpha Fischer's tributes to his twin jazz inspirations, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.{{#tag:ref, As Fischer himself told

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

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."Feather, Leonard
"Clare Fischer / Blindfold Test"
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116050107/http://www.mediafire.com/view/?5jspkydxsot4j , date=2016-01-16 . ''Down Beat''. October 19, 1967. Retrieved 2013-04-20. , group=lower-alpha 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."

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. 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.{{cite web , url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16756139 , title=BBC News - Composer Clare Fischer dies at 83 , website=Bbc.co.uk , date=27 January 2012 , access-date=January 27, 2012

Awards and recognitions

Grammy history

* Career Wins: 3Past Winners: Clare Fischer
Grammy.com. Retrieved 2014-12-03. * Career Nominations: 13 {, class=wikitable ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Genre ! Label ! Result , - align=center , 1976 , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) , " Green Dolphin Street" from ''Feeling Free'' , Jazz , Pausa , Nominee , - align=center , 1981 , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) , "Du Du" from '' 2+2'' , Latin , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1981 , Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices , "Du Du" from '' 2+2'' , Latin , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1981 , Best Latin Recording , "Guajira Pa La Jeva" from '' 2+2'' , Latin , Discovery , Winner , - align=center , 1982 , Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices , "One Night in a Dream" from ''And Sometimes Voices'' , Jazz , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1982 , Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording (with

and

Ronnie Foster Ronnie Foster (born May 12, 1950) is an American funk and soul jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s have gained a cult following after the emergence of acid jazz. Early life Foster was born ...

) , "Balladina" from '' Crazy for You'' , Pop , EMI , Nominee , - align=center , 1984 , Best Jazz Instrumental Performance By a Group , ''Whose Woods Are These?'' , Jazz , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1986 , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) , "Free Fall" from ''Free Fall'' , Jazz , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1986 , Best Jazz Fusion Performance – Vocal or Instrumental , "Free Fall" from ''Free Fall'' , Jazz , Discovery , Nominee , - align=center , 1996 , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) , " In the Still of the Night" from ''Lost In the Stars'' , Jazz , Teldec , Nominee , - align=center , 2011 , Best Instrumental Arrangement , "In the Beginning" from ''Continuum'' , Jazz , Clare Fischer Productions , Nominee , - align=center , 2012 , Best Latin Jazz Album , ''Ritmo'' , Latin jazz , Clare Fischer Productions , Winner (jointly with

Brent Fischer Brent Sean Cecil Fischer (born July 13, 1964) is an American composer, arranger, bandleader, bass guitarist and percussionist. The son of noted composer, arranger, and keyboardist Clare Fischer, Brent Fischer made his recording debut with his fa ...

) , - align=center , 2013 ,

Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

, "Pensiamento for Solo Alto Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra" from ''Music for Strings, Percussion and the Rest'' , Classical , Clare Fischer Productions , Winner

Discography

{{Main, Clare Fischer discography {{Col-begin {{Col-3 * '' First Time Out'' ( Pacific Jazz, 1962) *'' Bossa Nova Jazz Samba'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) with

*'' 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 In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

, 1966) {{Col-3 * '' Songs for Rainy Day Lovers'' (Columbia, 1967) * '' One to Get Ready, Four to Go'' (Revelation, 1968) * ''

'' (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) {{Col-3 * '' Alone Together'' (1980) * '' 2+2'' (1981) * '' Machaca'' (1981) * '' Introspectivo'' (2005) {{Col-end

Notes

{{reflist, group=lower-alpha

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{wikiquote

Official site

Clare Fischer's Website

Audio

Clare Fischer
on

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

's '' Piano Jazz''
Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Gaviota"
(Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by

Steve Khan Steve Khan (born Steven Harris Cahn; April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist. Career Steven Harris Cahn was born in Los Angeles. His father, lyricist Sammy Cahn, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". He took piano lessons as a ...

) at SteveKahn.com
Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Once Again"
(Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by

) at SteveKahn.com
Clare Fischer's solo Rhodes intro on "Where Is Love"
(Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by

) at SteveKahn.com
Island at the Top of the World (Disneyland Records, ST-3814)
at MouseVinyl.com
Escape to Witch Island (Disneyland Records, ST-3809)
at MouseVinyl.com

Video

Clare Fischer's informal clinic (conducted in October 1998)
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

2005 Red Bull Academy interview with Brent & Clare Fischer
on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software a ...

*{{YouTube, id=PoJ2SfM3Mxo&list=PLPPJ9g3R1ziuW48RCu9FQ4puus2YRT—3, title=Herbie Hancock discussing Clare Fischer in April 2012
Fischeresque: Applying Clare Fischer's Musical Style to a Solo Piano Performance of a Jazz Standard
(Lecture recital by Nick Weiser at the Eastman School of Music) on Youtube

Miscellaneous

Clare Fischer holdings
at th
Jazzinstitut Darmstadt
* {{IMDb name, id=0278857
List of compositions
at BMI * {{Find a Grave, 101714944 {{Clare Fischer {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Clare 1928 births 2012 deaths American jazz composers American jazz pianists American session musicians Jazz arrangers Latin jazz bandleaders Latin jazz composers Latin jazz keyboardists Latin jazz pianists Grammy Award winners Jazz musicians from California Jazz musicians from Michigan Musicians from Los Angeles Concord Records artists Michigan State University alumni Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Durand, Michigan American people of French descent American people of German descent American people of English descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent 20th-century American composers United States Army Band musicians 20th-century American pianists American male pianists American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers