Clare Fischer
October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012
Clare Fischer was a pianist, composer and arranger who, besides having his own respectable career as a musician, arranged music for some of pop music’s biggest stars. Fischer was still a child when he first started making music, and after graduating from college and serving in the Army, he pursued a career in music. During the late ’50s, he took on his first gig of note as the pianist and arranger for popular vocal quartet, the Hi-Los. It was his work with the group that helped establish them as a major influence on the likes of the Manhattan Transfer, Brian Wilson, and Quincy Jones. It was around that time that he also arranged music for jazz greats Cal Tjader, Donald Byrd, and George Shearing among others. Fischer began recording his own albums in 1962. His output includes First Time Out, Surging Ahead, and Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present 2+2 , for which he won a Grammy. Throughout his career, he was recognized with 11 Grammy nominations and two wins. In 1985, Fischer began writing arrangements for Prince. Albums on which they collaborated include Under A Cherry Moon and Graffiti Bridge. Other artists he arranged for include Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Robert Palmer. On January 26, 2012, Clare Fischer died as a result of a heart attack he suffered some three weeks prior. He was 83.
Thanks to Ken McCullagh for the assist.
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