Clare Fischer
A master harmonic architect whose lush, sophisticated chords became a secret language for generations of jazz, pop, and R&B innovators.
1928–2012 (age 84)·American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader·Birthday: October 22·The Silent Generation
Biography
Clare Fischer operated in the creative undercurrents of American music, a composer's composer whose influence far outstripped his public fame. Emerging from the intricate vocal jazz of the Hi-Lo's, where he served as pianist and arranger, Fischer developed a singular harmonic vocabulary—dense, colorful, and emotionally nuanced. He led his own Latin jazz groups, crafting albums that were laboratories of rhythm and texture, but his true impact was as a sideman and arranger for giants. His string and horn arrangements for artists like Dizzy Gillespie and João Gilberto had a polished, cinematic sheen. Perhaps most tellingly, his harmonic concepts were directly studied and adopted by a young Herbie Hancock, and later, by the architects of West Coast hip-hop and neo-soul, who sampled his work relentlessly. Fischer’s music provided the connective tissue between the cerebral world of post-bop and the sensual grooves of modern black popular music.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Clare was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Clare Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Clare's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 70
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 80
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2012Died at 84
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
Key Achievements
- Won two Grammy Awards, one for his instrumental "Guajira" and one for his album "2+2" with his son Brent.
- His harmonic concepts and voicings were profoundly influential on Herbie Hancock, who called Fischer his 'harmonic guru'.
- Provided acclaimed orchestral arrangements for major pop artists including Prince, on his album "Around the World in a Day".
- Led a series of innovative Latin jazz ensembles, notably 'Salsa Picante,' that blended complex jazz harmony with Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
Did You Know?
He composed the music for the popular educational cartoon "Schoolhouse Rock!" segment "Verb: That's What's Happening".
His song "Morning" was sampled by rapper A Tribe Called Quest for their track "Luck of Lucien".
He held a doctorate in music composition from the University of Southern California.
He suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 1980 but recovered and continued to compose and perform for decades after.
“I'm not a jazz musician. I'm a musician who plays jazz.”
