Extension (Clare Fischer album)

Last updated
Extension
Extension (Clare Fischer album).jpg
Studio album by
Clare Fischer
Released1963
Recorded1963 at Pacific Jazz Studios
Genre Jazz,
Label Pacific Jazz
PJ 77
Producer Richard Bock
Clare Fischer chronology
Surging Ahead
(1963)		Extension
(1963)		 So Danço Samba
(1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz favorable [1]
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
JazzWax favorable [3]

Extension is the third album by composer/arranger/keyboardist Clare Fischer, and his first for big band, recorded and released in 1963 on the Pacific Jazz label, reissued on CD (together with the 1967 LP, Songs for Rainy Day Lovers) in 2002 as America the Beautiful, [4] and, under its original name, in 2012. [5]

Contents

According to Ed Beach, disk jockey of the WRVR 106.7 FM New York radio program “Just Jazz,” on this album, all of the solos, except for those of Clare Fischer and tenor saxophonist Jerry Coker, were written out (by Fischer), not improvised.

Reception

Reviewing the 2012 CD reissue for All About Jazz, Troy Collins calls Extension Fischer's "masterpiece," representing "a majestic culmination of his concepts, drawing upon myriad influences, including rich Ellingtonian voicings, the angular harmonic intervals of bebop, and bold modernist innovations proffered by classical composers such as Béla Bartók and Dmitri Shostakovich." Expanding on this notion, Collins continues:

Counter to the norms of the time, these meticulously scored big-band charts are light on extended improvisation—but intentionally so—as Fischer considered the relationship between composition and arrangement equally important. Maintaining thematic control as primary soloist, Fischer proves to be a concise, yet original interpreter, demonstrated by his adroit pianism on the impressionistic tone poem "Quiet Dawn." His kaleidoscopic Hammond organ work, revealed elsewhere on the record, is equally colorful.

Alternating with the leader for the spotlight is tenor saxophonist Jerry Coker... Together Fischer and Coker accentuate the date's prismatic colors and variegated moods, which are by turns charmingly old fashioned, like the breezy "Ornithardy," or subversively modern, such as the jaunty "Igor," dedicated to Stravinsky. As part of the same continuum that includes Gil Evans, Stan Kenton and Gary McFarland, Fischer reveals a distinctive and unique compositional style. Accessible and sophisticated, Extension is a welcome reissue that will entertain and engage curious listeners on multiple levels. [1]

Track listing

External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg You may listen to "Quiet Dawn" here

All compositions by Clare Fischer.

  1. "Ornithardy" - 3:29
  2. "Quiet Dawn" - 4:36
  3. "Bittersweet" - 3:43
  4. "Igor" - 3:23
  5. "Extension" - 6:32
  6. "Solette" - 1:08
  7. "Passacaglia" - 3:16
  8. "Canto Africano" - 3:54

Personnel

Ornithardy, Extension, Soloette / Passacaglia

Quiet Dawn, Bittersweet, Igor, Canto Africano

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References

  1. 1 2 Collins, Troy. "Clare Fischer Extension (2012)". All About Jazz. April 10, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Clare Fischer: America the Beautiful (Overview)" (Rating of CD including both Extension & Songs for Rainy Day Lovers). Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  3. ↑ Marc Myers: "Clare Fischer: Extension (1963)" JazzWax. June 5, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  4. ↑ "America the Beautiful (Musical CD, 2002)". WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-03-18
  5. ↑ "Extension (Musical CD, 2012)". WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-03-18
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