Clare Fischer (22 October 1928, Durand, Michigan — 26 January 2012, Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz composer, arranger, bandleader, keyboardist, and multi-instrumentalist. He was the younger brother of [url=https://discogs.com/artist/2332672]Stewart "Dirk" Fischer[/url] (1924—2014), uncle of [url=https://discogs.com/artist/284968]André Fischer[/url] (b. 1948), and father of
Brent Fischer (b. 1964), with whom Clare extensively collaborated. With a career spanning over five decades, Fischer came to prominence in the early 1960s with seminal albums in Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, and bossa nova genres, and wrote two standards,
Pensativa and
[url=https://discogs.com/master/527830]Morning[/url]. Since the 1970s, Clare Fischer was a sought-after session musician and arranger, collaborating with
Prince,
João Gilberto,
Paul McCartney,
Céline Dion,
Robert Palmer,
Paula Abdul,
Natalie Cole,
Branford Marsalis, and
Michael Jackson.
Fischer attended Michigan State University, studying composition and music theory under
Herbert Owen Reed and graduating
cum laude with his Bachelor's degree in 1951, followed by a Master's in 1955. (He received an Honorary Ph.D. from Michigan State in December 1999.) Shortly after graduation, Clare Fischer began working with
The Hi-Lo's band, as a piano accompanist and subsequently an arranger on several Columbia albums. Circa 1957, Fischer arranged the
[r=2534133] album for renowned jazz trumpeter
Donald Byrd (unreleased for the next 25 years), followed by small ensemble arrangements on
A Portrait Of Duke Ellington by
Dizzy Gillespie, released by Columbia to critical acclaim in 1960. He also collaborated with a prominent vibraphonist
Cal Tjader on several records on Columbia and Verve.
In 1962, after relocating to Hollywood and signing his first record deal with Columbia, Fischer released a debut album under his name,
First Time Out. He soon established a reputation in Brazilian music, presenting
Bossa Nova Jazz Samba duo with saxophonist
Bud Shank, with "Pensativa" widely adopted as a jazz standard. He also arranged
Shearing Bossa Nova by pianist
George Shearing for Columbia. In the early-to-mid 1970s, Fischer began commissioning orchestral and string arrangements for pop-oriented R&B, funk, and disco acts, starting with
Chaka Khan's band
Rufus co-founded by his nephew [url=https://discogs.com/artist/284968]André[/url] and subsequently working with
The Jacksons,
Earl Klugh,
Switch and
DeBarge,
Atlantic Starr, and
Shotgun. Clare also wrote music for commercials and the film industry, collaborating with
Henry Mancini and recording piano on
Lalo Schifrin's
[url=https://discogs.com/master/1137111]Boulevard Nights[/url] soundtrack, among others.
In the late 1970s, he started a new band,
Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante, leading on electric piano and featuring his son [url=https://discogs.com/artist/436604]Brent[/url] on electric bass. Their debut
2+2 LP on Columbia, featuring an [url=https://discogs.com/artist/3629180]eponymous vocal quartet[/url], earned three Grammy nominations and won the "Best Latin Recording" award in 1981. Fischer then formed [url=https://discogs.com/artist/3982940]Latin Jazz Sextet[/url], winning another Grammy for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" with
[url=https://discogs.com/master/1200759]Free Fall[/url] LP in 1986. He established and directed several other prolific ensembles, including his [url=https://discogs.com/artist/1970936]Big Band[/url] and [r=12387283] with 20+ brass instruments.
Fischer began collaborating with
Prince in 1985, contributing orchestral arrangements on
Parade. In the next twenty years, they partnered on several studio albums and film soundtracks, including
Sign "O" The Times,
[url=https://discogs.com/master/52430]Batman[/url],
Graffiti Bridge,
Love Symbol,
[url=https://discogs.com/master/233491]Girl 6[/url], and
Musicology. Clare Fischer also formed and conducted
The NPG Orchestra, which recorded Prince's sole classical music experiment,
Kamasutra ballet, and contributed to solo projects by Prince's protegés on Columbia and Columbia, including
Jill Jones,
Eric Leeds, [url=https://discogs.com/artist/148601]The Family[/url] band,
Chaka Khan,
Larry Graham's GCS,
Támar Davis, and
Bria Valente.
