This release contains two complete original LPs by Clare Fisher. First Time Out (Pacific Jazz PJ52) received the maximum five-star rating in Down Beat magazine and presents Fischer in a trio format with the splendid Gary Peacock on bass. Our companion LP, Clare FischerJazz (RCA Victor Mexicana MKL-1433) marks Fischer’s debut album as a leader. It is a true rarity and appears here ON CD FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. The album was recorded in 1961 during Fischer’s visit to Mexico, and showcases him backed by competent local musicians. All but three of the eight tracks from this LP feature the pianist in a trio format!. The repertoire consists of a selection of jazz standards and compositions by Fisher, who arranged all of the tracks. With the exception of “Fascinating Rhythm”, which he has previously recorded with the Hi-Lo’s in 1958, Fisher never recorded any of the tunes from the Mexican album again!!
Caetano Rodrigues and Charles Gavin book has an amazing section with records from non-Brazilian artists performing Bossa Nova. Particularly, Charlie Byrd LPs are fantastic with those covers with parrots and macaws with some Brazilian spots on background. Among the several gems available there, Caetano selected a special one, Clare Fischer - Clare Fischer Plays Antonio Carlos Jobim and Clare Fischer, So Danco Samba (1965), for World Pacific with Clare Fischer (piano, organ), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Bob West (bass) and Colin Bailey (drums). "This America pianist really tried to decipher the refined language of Bossa Nova. He was not one of the pioneers of the new style as great names of the international jazz scene had already tackled it. However, Fischer's merit lay in his choice of repertoire, almost entirely based on the songs by Tom Jobim, bringing elements of jazz into the traditional Brazilian flavor…
An early moment of genius from the young Clare Fischer – one of his first sets for a larger ensemble, and the start of years of great work to come! Previous Pacific Jazz sessions featured Fischer in a piano trio – but this album lets Clare loose on a host of his own inventive arrangements – a set of charts and compositions that easily move between the modern and the groovy – sometimes using offbeat tones and sounds that rival the best that Ellington or Gil Evans had to offer – other times coming across with this fluidity that's a perfect summation of the way that Fischer pulled together all of the California cool of the 50s, and managed to come up with something completely fresh for the 60s!