"Jade Visions" -- Scott LaFaro biography

[Larry Kart]

I'm halfway through the newish LaFaro biography written by his younger sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez, "Jade Visions," and despite what one might expect (his sister?), it's quite good so far. She and Scott were very close apparently, she was on or around the scene enough back then to get the flavor of things, has talked to a lot of the right people, and just has a lot of soul.

Scott's intense drive toward perfection comes through quite clearly; he would practice all day if he could, then play the gig and come back and practice some more. One nice scene, related by Scott's girlfriend of the time, Suzanne Stewart, is when Scott is on the road with the Buddy Morrow band in Detroit in Feb. 1956 (Stewart was the band's vocalist), and the MJQ happened to be staying at the same hotel. Percy Heath walks by Scott's room, hears him practicing, knocks on the door and says, "If you're going to go to all that trouble, man, why not play guitar?" Scott replies, "Because bass is my instrument."

Several months later the Morrow band was in Memphis, and it was suffocatingly hot. Stewart urged Scott to join her in the hotel swimming pool. He begged off, saying, "I can't, I've got some good callus going."

Link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=jade+visions+the+life+and+music+of+scott+lafaro&sprefix=jade+visions

[sheldonm]

I met Helene in LA this past fall...selling the book/cds and so on. Nice lady and good book.

m~