Clare Fischer

Clare Fischer pursued a multifaceted path that encompassed work as a keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He created the enduring standards “Pensativa” and “Morning,” and his longstanding fascination with Latin rhythms shaped much of his output. Upon completing his studies at Michigan State University, Fischer relocated to Los Angeles in 1957, where he served as accompanist and arranger for the Hi-Lo’s. He supplied arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie’s 1960 album A Portrait of Duke Ellington and began documenting bossa nova material by 1962; that year also yielded two trio sessions, followed in 1963 by his debut big-band recording. Over subsequent decades he moved fluidly between small-group and large-ensemble formats, exploring an expansive range of contexts that stretched from unaccompanied piano to leadership of the vocal-centered Latin ensemble Salsa Picante. Residing in Los Angeles, the pianist—who also proved adept on organ and electric keyboards—issued numerous sessions for Pacific Jazz/World Pacific, Revelation, Discovery, MPS, and Concord. His first classical album, After the Rain, appeared in 2003. On January 26, 2012, Fischer succumbed at a Burbank, California hospital to complications from a heart attack suffered two weeks earlier; he was 83.