Clare Fischer

Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from whom, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate), he became the pianist and arranger for the vocal group The Hi-Lo’s in the late 1950s. Fischer went on to work with Donald Byrd and Dizzy Gillespie, and became known for his Latin and bossa nova recordings in the 1960s. He composed the salsa standard, "Morning", and the jazz standard, "Pensativa". Consistently cited by jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock as a major influence ("I wouldn't be me without Clare Fischer" ), he was nominated for eleven Grammy Awards during his lifetime, winning for his landmark album, Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present "2 + 2" (1981), the first of Fischer's records to incorporate the vocal ensemble writing developed during his Hi-Lo's days into his already sizable Latin jazz discography; it was also the first recorded installment in Fischer's three-decade-long collaboration with his son Brent. Dr. Fischer was also a posthumous Grammy winner for ¡Ritmo! (2012).

Beginning in the early 1970s, Fischer embarked on a parallel career (and by far the more lucrative one), eventually becoming a much sought after arranger, providing orchestral 'sweeteners' for pop and R&B artists such as Rufus (with Chaka Kahn), Prince (a regular client from 1985 on, and by far Fischer's most frequent employer in this vein), Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and many others.

Early life and education
Fischer was the third of four children born to Cecil and Louella (Roussin) Fischer of Durand, Michigan. His parents were of German, French, Irish-Scot, and English backgrounds. In grade school he started his general music study with violin and piano as his first instruments. At the age of 7 he began to pick out four-part harmony on the piano. After two years of piano lessons the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Fischer began composing classical music and making instrumental arrangements for dance bands.

At South High School he took up cello, clarinet, and saxophone. His high school instructor, Glenn Litton, took an interest in the boy and, because the family could not afford it, gave him free lessons in music theory, harmony, and orchestration. Fischer returned the favor by orchestrating and copying music for him. Whenever the concert band needed an instrument, Fischer would be supplied with it and the fingering chart to play it in concert. This gave him a personal training in orchestration that was invaluable.

Fischer started his own band at 15, for which he wrote all the arrangements. After graduating in 1946, he began undergraduate studies in 1947 at Michigan State University, majoring in music composition and theory, and studying with H. Owen Reed. During his teens there were no funds for him to study piano, so he was mostly self-taught. Therefore his major instrument in college was cello, and piano a minor. Later he changed his major to piano and minor in clarinet.

Fischer graduated in 1951 with a B.M., cum laude, and began his first year of graduate work in composition. The U.S. Army drafted him the next year, sending him to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training. There he played alto saxophone in the band and ended his service as an arranger at the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, N.Y. After the army, Fischer returned to Michigan State. In 1955 he received his Master of Music.

Fischer next lived in Detroit, Michigan, whereupon, after first hearing the vocal quartet The Hi-Lo's in a live perfomance, he promptly offered his services. Over the next five years, Fischer recorded several albums with the group, serving as pianist and, on occasion, arranger. In addition, he contributed several vocal arrangements, making his debut in that capacity; it was these arrangements that Herbie Hancock would later point to as a major influence:


 * [T]hat's when I really learned some much farther-out voicings - like the harmonies I used on Speak Like a Child - just being able to do that. I really got that from Clare Fischer's arrangements for the Hi-Lo's. Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept... I heard some of his last records, and he was still doing amazing harmonic stuff. And, of course, he was a wonderful pianist, too. But it was those vocal harmonies that were the first thing I heard. I was in awe of him.

While with The Hi-Lo's, Fischer arranged a record by trumpeter Donald Byrd, which, by virtue of Fischer's use of strings and harps, imbued well-known standards with an unaccustomed, melancholic quality. Although it would be twenty-five years before the album was finally released, September Afternoon paid immediate dividends when Byrd played a copy for Dizzy Gillespie. In turn, Gillespie hired Fischer to write arrangements for a small ensemble featuring brass and woodwinds for his own album, A Portrait of Duke Ellington, which was well received. In 1960 albums for vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist George Shearing followed, as did an eight year career of writing music for commercials, as well as the signing of Fischer's first record contract.

Early career as a leader
The first recording under his own name began in 1962 for Pacific Jazz Records: First Time Out, Surging Ahead, Manteca! and Extension, plus recordings with Bud Shank and Joe Pass. These early records are meticulous studies in jazz, bossa nova and mambo, with the harmonic depth of Bach, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. They were well received by the critics, but commercially not very successful. Fischer presented himself both as pianist and arranger and composed his most famous pieces, "Pensativa" and "Morning". His many talents, however, proved a disadvantage.


 * Whenever I played with a trio, people said: "Fischer owes a lot to Bill Evans." Who I had never heard playing. My big musical example at the time was Lee Konitz. And when I orchestrated a record it was Gil Evans, the arranger, that I copied. I called this my "Evans Brothers syndrome".

Arrangements for Sérgio Mendes, Willy Ruff and others followed. In the sixties Fischer began playing the organ again, having studied the pipe organ at sixteen. He began to record on a Hammond B-3 for Pacific and on an album by Cal Tjader, Soña Libre. Years later, Fischer would record T'DAAA (1972) which showcased his skill on the Yamaha EX-42 and Clare Declares (1977) which once again featured the pipe organ.

Fischer's roommates at the Michigan State University were Latin Americans, as were the majority of his friends outside the music department. He was introduced to the music of Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Machito and others. Through his friends he became interested in the Spanish language and took it as a minor on his Masters Degree. Fischer's passion for music was always matched by his love of languages.
 * The average person has about a fifteen percent understanding of a foreign language. He knows what language it is and is familiar with one or two words. With music it is not different. Most people only hear the lyrics to a song or feel the beat. I have always made music for good listeners, with 65 to eighty percent of musical understanding. That is why with my vocal sextet all pieces are sung in the original language, whether that is German, Spanish or Japanese.

When he moved to Hollywood in 1958, he went to East L.A. to play and learn more about Latin-Jazz. He started in a charanga group with Modesta Duran as leader and played with many different groups.

During this period Fischer became interested in Brazilian music through the recordings of Elizete Cardoso, for whom he wrote the standard "Elizete". Allegedly he cut the very first American Bossa Nova record for Cal Tjader. His liner notes illustrate how uncommon it was that Fischer tried to get people to dance to something other than the twist:


 * Last spring I was introduced to a friend of bassist Ralph Peña [...] he talked to us about a new kind of music that was being played in Brazil called the 'Bossa Nova' which in slang terms might be like saying 'the new bag' or 'new aptitude'. [...] The rhythms were so infectious that, even though I usually don't dance much myself, I felt compelled to respond and found myself dancing away several hours.

Salsa Picante years
In 1975, after ten years of studiowork and artistically successful yet obscure solo records, Fischer found a new direction. Just like Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea he was a pioneer on the electric keyboard, and in that capacity he joined vibraphonist Cal Tjader's group. The reunion with Tjader gave a new impulse to Fischer's love of Latin-American music. He started his own group with Latino musicians, "Salsa Picante," which showed great eclecticism in musical styles. Later he added a vocal group, 2+2. Stravinsky mixed with boogie woogie, country with renaissance music.

The record Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present "2 + 2" won a Grammy in 1981. After that he recorded And Sometimes Voices and Free Fall with the vocal group. Free Fall was nominated in three categories for the Grammy Awards and won under the category of "Best Jazz Album By A Vocal Duo Or Group". Crazy Bird was with the instrumental group and Alone Together, a solo piano album recorded on a magnificent Hamburg Steinway. It was recorded for Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and the German company MPS Records. Fischer's MPS records were re-released by Discovery Records. In 1999 Motor Music in Hamburg issued a CD with 24 bits re-mastered highpoints of four of his Latin-flavoured MPS records, called Latin Patterns.

In the seventies, Fischer began doing orchestral sweeteners for R&B groups. His nephew, André Fischer, was the drummer of the band Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. "Apparently the arrangements I made for their early records were appreciated, for in the following years I was hired almost exclusively by black artists." Among the artists Fischer worked for are The Jacksons, Earl Klugh, Switch, Debarge, Shotgun (a late 70s offshoot of 24-Carat Black) and Atlantic Starr. His walls are now covered with gold and platinum records from these recordings, Grammy Award Nominations, and several NARAS MVP Awards, culminating in an MVP-emeritus in 1985.

Once his fame as an arranger was established, Fischer also worked with pop musicians like Paul McCartney, Prince, Celine Dion and Robert Palmer. "I am surprised that my arrangements are now considered one of the prerequisites for a hit album. People feel that they make a song sound almost classical."

Classical concert artist Richard Stoltzman commissioned him in 1983 to write a symphonic work using Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn themes. The result, "The Duke, Swee'pea and Me", an eleven and a half minute orchestral work, was performed with a symphony orchestra and Stoltzman on clarinet all around the world.

Later years: jazz inspiration and pop arranger
Since 1985 Fischer wrote orchestral arrangements for pop artist Prince. Some appeared on Prince's albums and have been used for his movies Under the Cherry Moon (Fischer's first screen credit), Graffiti Bridge and in Spike Lee's Girl 6. One of Fischer's Prince arrangements was also used in a revised form for the movie Batman. Prince's December 2005 single "Te Amo Corazon," a mid-tempo Latin jazz track, featured string arrangements by Fischer.

More recently, as a jazz educator, Fischer performed solo piano concerts and conducted clinics and master classes in universities and music conservatories in Europe and throughout the United States. In 1995 Just Me came out, a Concord Jazz CD with Fischer on solo piano. Featuring his Latin-jazz group and six singers, now referred to as "Clare Fischer & Friends", a JVC Music CD was released in 1997 called Rockin' In Rhythm.

Two gifted Dutch jazz pianists, Cor Bakker and Bert van den Brink, recorded the homage DeClared (1993) which contains nine Fischer compositions. Five years later recordings made in 1991 and 1997 with The Netherlands Metropole Orchestra led by Rob Pronk and Vince Mendoza came out as The Latin Side. Another notable recent CD with Clare is a re-issue of Art Pepper's Tokyo Debut on Galaxy (1995).

Fischer continued to write for Prince and many other renowned artists including Michael Jackson before his death, Amy Grant, Brazilian artist João Gilberto (João), Paula Abdul, Natalie Cole and more recently Chaka Khan and Branford Marsalis.

With his commercial work Fischer financed a costly band of twenty brass instruments, called "Clare Fischer's Jazz Corps". The recordings of this band contain an interesting arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado". "The death of my friend Tom Jobim has affected me deeply. Like me he was 68, and I am still alive. After he died I had a dream in which I was conducting his 'Corcovado'. Only it was not a normal version, there were these harmonic countermelodies in the bass. When I awoke I wrote down what I had dreamed. It became Jobim's In Memoriam, a piece I called 'Corcovado Fúnebre.'"

One of Fischer's last projects in his own name was a recording with Brazilian guitarist Hélio Delmiro called "Symbiosis" which has been released on a "Clare Fischer Productions" recording as has his Clare Fischer's Jazz Corps recording.

In December 1999, Michigan State University School of Music conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree on Fischer in recognition of his "creativity and excellence as a jazz composer, arranger and performer".

On October 22, 2009, Manhattan School of Music's Concert Jazz Band, under the direction of Justin DiCoccio, commemorated two Clare Fischer anniversaries - both his 81st birthday and the 40th anniversary of the release of his well-regarded big band LP, Thesaurus - with a concert whose program concluded with five consecutive arrangements culled from that album. FIttingly, the five-tune sequence both began and ended, much like the album itself, with "The Duke" and "Upper Manhattan Medical Group," respectively, Fischer's tributes to his twin jazz inspirations, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Sadly, Dr. Fischer could not attend the tribute; following a medical emergency on the flight home from a family reunion in Michigan the previous year, the family had decided that air travel was "just too stressful."

Death
On January 8, 2012, Fischer suffered a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, following a minor surgery a few days before. His wife of 18 years, Donna, was at his side and performed CPR. He remained in ICU on life support, and died on January 26, 2012. He is survived by his wife; three children, Lee, Brent and Tahlia; and two stepchildren, Lisa and Bill Bachman.

As leader

 * Jazz (1961, in Mexico City, with Víctor Ruiz Pazos, double bass; Salvador Agüero Rabito, drum; Jesús Aguirre, trombone; Chilo Morán and Nacho Rosales, trumpets; Juan Ravelo, Primitivo Ornelas and Tomás Rodríguez, saxophones)
 * First Time Out (1962)
 * Surging Ahead (1963)
 * Extension (1963)
 * So Danço Samba (1964)
 * Manteca! (1965)
 * Easy Livin' (1966)
 * Songs for Rainy Day Lovers (1967) – reissued in 1978
 * ONE - to get ready: FOUR..... to – GO! (1968)
 * Thesaurus (1969) – reissued in 1979
 * Great White Hope (& His Japanese Friend) (1970)
 * Love is Surrender: Ralph Carmichael Presents the Multi-Keyboards of Clare Fischer (1971)
 * T’DA-A-A! (1972) – Clare Fischer & the Yamaha Quartet
 * Clare Fischer In the Reclamation Act of 1972! (1972)
 * Tell It Like It Is (1972)
 * Report of the 1st Annual Symposium on Relaxed Improvisation (1973) – with Warne Marsh and Gary Foster
 * Music Inspired by the Kinetic Sculpture of Don Conard Mobiles (1975)
 * The State of His Art (1976)
 * Clare Declares (1977)
 * America the Beautiful (1978) – previously released as Songs For Rainy Day Lovers in 1967
 * Jazz Song (1979)
 *  ‘Twas Only Yesterday (1979) – previously released as Thesaurus in 1968
 * Clare Fischer & EX-42 (1979) – originally released as T’DA-A-A! in 1972
 * Duality (1980)
 * Salsa Picante (1980)
 * Alone Together (1980) – Clare Fischer & the Brunner-Schwer Steinway, re-released in 1997
 * Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present "2 + 2" (1981) – winner Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording
 * Machaca (1981)
 * Head, Heart and Hands (1982)
 * And Sometimes Voices (1982) – with 2+2
 * September Afternoon (1982) – with Donald Byrd
 * Starbright (1983) – with Gary Foster
 * Whose Woods Are These? (1984) – with Gary Foster, Grammy nomination
 * Extension (1984) – with Jerry Coker
 * Crazy Bird (1985) – Re-released in 1992
 * Freefall (1986) – winner Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group
 * Clare Fischer Plays (1987)
 * Tjaderama (1987)
 * Blues Trilogy (1987) – with Gary Foster
 * Waltz (1988)
 * Remembrances (Lembranças) (1990)
 * Memento (1992)
 * Just Me: Solo Piano Excursions (1995)
 * Rockin’ In Rhythm (1997) – Clare Fischer & Friends
 * The Latin Side (1997) – Clare Fischer & Metropole Orchestra
 * Clare Fischer’s Jazz Corps (1998)
 * Latin Patterns (1999) – Clare Fischer & The Legendary MPS Sessions
 * Symbiosis (1999) – Clare Fischer & Hélio Delmiro
 * Bert van den Brink Invites Clare Fischer (2000)
 * After the Rain (2001)
 * On a Turquoise Cloud (2002)
 * Introspectivo (2005)
 * A Family Affair (2006)
 * ...And Sometimes Instruments (2011) – The Clare Fischer Voices
 * Continuum (2011) – The Clare Fischer Big Band
 * ¡Ritmo! (2012) – The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band, winner Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album

As arranger
With Donald Byrd With Gene Puerling &#160;(and The Hi-Lo's) &#160;(and Singers Unlimited) With Dizzy Gillespie With Cal Tjader With George Shearing With Stan Kenton With Hubert Laws With Switch With The Baylor University A Cappella Choir With Desiree Coleman With Robert Palmer With Paul McCartney With Al Jarreau With Paulyna Carraz With João Gilberto With Diane Schuur With Terry Trotter With Najee With Chanticleer With John Pizzarelli With Carl Saunders With Toni Braxton With Terri Walker
 * September Afternoon (Discovery, 1982) – recorded in 1956 and 1957
 * Suddenly It's the Hi-Lo's (Columbia, 1957) – uncredited, also piano
 * Ring Around Rosie (Columbia, 1957) – uncredited, also piano
 * Love Nest (Columbia, 1958) – uncredited, also piano
 * The Hi-Lo's and All That Jazz (Columbia, 1959) – also piano
 * This Time It's Love (Columbia, 1962)
 * Now - The Hi-Lo's! (Pausa, 1981) – also electric piano
 * A Special Blend (MPS, 1976) – also electric piano
 * A Portrait of Duke Ellington (Verve, 1960)
 * West Side Story (Fantasy, 1960) – also piano
 * Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen (Fantasy, 1962)
 * Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil (Verve, 1962) – also piano
 * Shearing Bossa Nova (Fantasy, 1963)
 * Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (Capitol, 1965)
 * In the Beginning (CTI, 1974) – also piano
 * Reaching for Tomorrow (Gordy, 1980), strings on "A Brighter Tomorrow"
 * Fairest Lord Jesus (Word, 1986) – hymn settings
 * Desiree (Motown, 1988) – string arrangement on "Until Tonight"
 * Heavy Nova (EMI, 1988) – string arrangements
 * Don't Explain (EMI, 1990)
 * Ridin' High (EMI, 1992)
 * Flowers in the Dirt (EMI, 1989) – orchestral arrangement on "Distractions" and on "The Lovers That Never Were" (unreleased)
 * Music From 'Do the Right Thing' (Motown, 1989) – string arrangement on "Never Explain Love""
 * Paulyna Carraz (Melody, 1990) – string arrangements on "Delirio" and "Otra Vez" (also played piano on "Cosa Como Tu")
 * João (Verve, 1991)
 * In Tribute (GRP, 1992)
 * It's About Time (MAMA, 1993) – also electric piano, liner notes
 * Najee Plays Songs from the Key of Life: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder (Capitol, 1995), strings on "Village Ghetto Land"
 * Lost in the Stars (Teldec, 1996) - "In the Still of the Night" (Grammy nominee for "Best instrumental arrangement accompanied by vocals")
 * Let's Share Christmas (RCA, 1996)
 * Eclecticism (SNL, 2000)
 * Snowflakes (Arista, 2001) – string arrangements on "Santa Please," "Pretty Please" (Interlude), and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
 * More Than a Woman (Arista, 2002), orchestral arrangements
 * Untitled (Def Soul, Mercury, 2002) – conductor, string arrangements

As sideman
With Bud Shank With Cal Tjader With Joe Pass With The Jazz Crusaders With Lenita Bruno With Bill Stewart With Ralph Carmichael With Moacir Santos With Lalo Schifrin With Disneyland Records With Laurindo Almeida With Art Pepper With Donald Byrd With Bill Perkins With Sandi Shoemake With Lisa Rich With Jon Crosse With Jeff Berlin With Larry Carlton With Amy Grant With Ettore Stratta & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
 * Bossa Nova Jazz Samba (Pacific Jazz, 1962) – piano
 * Brasamba (Pacific Jazz, 1963) – piano
 * Soña Libre (Verve, 1963) – organ, piano
 * Guarabe (Fantasy, 1977) – electric piano
 * Huracán (Crystal Clear, 1978) – electric piano
 * Here [live] (Fantasy, recorded 1977, released 1979) – electric piano
 * Catch Me (Pacific Jazz, 1963) – piano and organ
 * Chile Con Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1965) – organ
 * Work of Love (Nucleus, 1967) – keyboards
 * The Bill Stewart Show. 500 (RU 24-8 [Dec. 1967]) (AFRTS, 1967) – LP recording of one-hour radio show with guest Clare Fischer
 * Songs of Living Hope (Stylist, 1967) – piano and organ
 * Maestro (Blue Note, 1972)
 * Carnival of the Spirits (Blue Note, 1975)
 * Enter the Dragon (soundtrack) (Warner Bros., 1973)
 * Island at the Top of the World (DR ST-3814, 1974) – 'Storyteller' LP adaptation of feature film features Fischer adapting Maurice Jarre's score for organ.
 * Escape From Witch Island (DR ST-3809, 1975) – 'Storyteller' LP adaptation of feature film features Fischer adapting Johnny Mandel's score for organ.
 * Virtuoso Guitar (Crystal Clear, 1977) – piano, electric piano (45 RPM limited edition)
 * Tokyo Debut [live] (Galaxy, 1977)
 * Donald Byrd and 125th Street (Elektra, 1979)
 * Many Ways to Go (Sea Breeze, 1980) – organ
 * Slowly (Discovery, 1984)
 * Touch of the Rare (Trend, 1985)
 * Lullabies Go Jazz: Sweet Songs for Sweet Dreams (Jazz Cat, 1985)
 * Peter and the Wolf Play Jazz (Jazz Cat, 1989)
 * Pump It (Passport, 1986)
 * Taking Notes (Denon, 1997)
 * Crossroads (Denon, 1998)
 * In Harmony's Way (M.A.J. 2001)
 * Christmas at My House (MCA, 1989) – electric piano
 * Home for Christmas (A&M, 1992)
 * Symphonic Bolero (Teldec, 1993)

Articles

 * "Former Durand Boy Orchestra Leader At Age of 15". The Owosso Argus-Press. December 13, 1943.
 * Fischer, Clare. (with Feather, Leonard). "Clare Fischer – Blindfold Test". Down Beat. October 25, 1962. p. 39.
 * Fischer, Clare. "On Bossa Nova". Down Beat. November 8, 1962. p. 23.
 * "Students Invited To Jazz Festival". The Lawrence Journal-World. November 30, 1965.
 * Fischer, Clare. (with Feather, Leonard). "Clare Fischer – Blindfold Test". Down Beat. October 19, 1967. p. 38.
 * Moody, Lois. "Moody's Jazz: Latin Rhythms Add Color". The Ottawa Citizen. November 23, 1979.
 * "Big-band Fans Get A Treat". The Calgary Herald. February 26, 1983.
 * "College Guest". The Sonora Union Democrat. February 22, 1984.
 * Locklin, Lydia. "College Jazz Series: Latin Salsa Of Clare Fischer A Complement To Jazz Show". The Sonora Union Democrat. November 21, 1986.
 * Stewart, Zan. "He Arranges, Composes, Performs : Fischer: A Renaissance Man Of Music". The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1987.
 * Liska, James. "Jazz Review : 2+2: Challenge Plus Wit Found Friday At Le Cafe". The Los Angeles Times. May 18, 1987.
 * Wilson, John S. "Jazz: Clare Fischer, Pianist, at Weill Hall". The New York Times. October 25, 1987.
 * Heckman, Don. "Jazz Reviews: Fischer and Friends Stir It Up at Le Cafe". The Los Angeles Times. September 26, 1988.
 * Stewart, Zan. "Musicians Set for Clare Fischer Tribute; `Boatful of Blues' on L.A. Harbor Cruise". The Los Angeles Times. October 25, 1989.
 * Heckman, Don. "JAZZ REVIEW: Star Performers at Fischer Tribute". The Los Angeles Times. October 31, 1989.
 * Feather, Leonard. "JAZZ REVIEW: A Coming-Out Party for Fischer" The Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1990.
 * Feather, Leonard. "JAZZ REVIEW: Fischer, Trotter Lead a Five-Star Set" The Los Angeles Times. July 12, 1990.
 * "College to Stage Latin Jazz Shows". The Sonora Union Democrat. February 7, 1992.
 * Heckman, Don. "Fischer: a Ferocious Teddy Bear : Pianist Says He's Soft and Cuddly--When You Stay on His Good Side". The Los Angeles Times. July 3, 1992.
 * Stewart, Zan. "Horizon Reaching for New Horizons: Saxophonist Bobby Watson's group makes its L.A. debut; Critic's Choice". The Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1993.
 * De Haan, Maarten. "Clare Fischer: The Best Kept Secret in Jazz". Artist Interviews. 1998.
 * Jolley, Craig. "Meet Clare Fischer". All About Jazz. March 1999.
 * Rideout, Ernie. "Master Class: Voicing with a Heart". Keyboard. August 2000. pp. 54-56, 58, 60, 62.
 * Heckman, Don. "Piano-Guitar Duo a Marvel of Subtlety". The Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2001.
 * Phelps, Boyd. "Clare Fischer: An Interview With Clare Fischer". Jazz Player. April 2001. pp. 25-30.
 * Heckman, Don. "A Star Turn for the 'Secondary' Clarinet: Clare Fischer's deft ensemble showcases the musical virtues of the woodwind". The Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2003.
 * Heckman, Don. "Drawing new 'Pictures at an Exhibition': Brent Fischer ably translates the classic piece into a new big-band aesthetic". The Los Angeles Times. September 12, 2007.
 * Hancock, Herbie; as told to Michael J. West. "Herbie Hancock Remembers Clare Fischer". JazzTimes. April 5, 2013.

Books

 * Reprinted as:


 * Zegree, Stephen L. (1989). A comparative and analytical study of the procedures used by Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, and Clare Fischer in writing an a cappella arrangement of a popular American song. PhD diss. Kansas City: University of Missouri.
 * Hinz, Robert Kurtis (1998). Aspects of harmony and voice leading in four solo piano performances by Clare Fischer. PhD diss. New York: New York University.
 * Fischer, Clare; Coker, Jerry; Dobbins, Bill (2000). The Music of Clare Fischer, Volume 1. Rottenburg, DE: Advance Music.
 * Fischer, Clare; Foster, Gary; Dobbins, Bill (2004). The Music of Clare Fischer, Volume 2. Rottenburg, DE: Advance Music.
 * Foster, Christopher N. (2011). "Using Clare Fischer's solo piano approach in 'Yesterdays' to reinterpret Jazz standard repertoire". PhD diss. Perth, AU: Edith Cowan University.
 * Foster, Christopher N. (2011). "Using Clare Fischer's solo piano approach in 'Yesterdays' to reinterpret Jazz standard repertoire". PhD diss. Perth, AU: Edith Cowan University.
 * Foster, Christopher N. (2011). "Using Clare Fischer's solo piano approach in 'Yesterdays' to reinterpret Jazz standard repertoire". PhD diss. Perth, AU: Edith Cowan University.

Official Site

 * Clare Fischer's Website

Audio

 * Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Gaviota" (Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
 * Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes solo on "Once Again" (Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
 * Clare Fischer's solo Rhodes intro on "Where Is Love" (Soundclip, plus transcription & analysis by Steve Khan) at SteveKahn.com
 * Island at the Top of the World (Disneyland Records, ST-3814) at MouseVinyl.com
 * Escape to Witch Island (Disneyland Records, ST-3809) at MouseVinyl.com

Video

 * Clare Fischer's informal clinic (conducted in October 1998) on Youtube
 * 2005 Red Bull Academy interview with Brent & Clare Fischer on Vimeo
 * Herbie Hancock discussing Clare Fischer in April 2012 on Youtube

Miscellaneous

 * List of compositions at BMI