GENEVA, NY — Geneva Night Out and the Smith Center for the Arts present the 4th Annual Scott LaFaro Day Celebration with a concert featuring the Eddie Gomez Trio on Friday, April 7th at 8:00 p.m. at The Smith Opera House in downtown Geneva.
The concert is free and open to the public and is sponsored in part by Geneva on the Lake, Guardian Industries Corporation, and WEOS Finger Lakes Public Radio.
======================================
Scott LaFaro grew up in Geneva and went on to become one of the most influential bassists in the history of jazz as a member of the Bill Evans Trio before his untimely death at the age of 25 in a 1961 automobile accident. Geneva’s celebration of his life and his music has included the permanent designation of a downtown street as Scott LaFaro Way and concerts featuring acclaimed regional and national jazz artists. Plans are in place to commission a statue of Scott LaFaro to be placed in a public location downtown.
This year’s celebration features a trio of internationally renowned jazz musicians. Bassist Eddie Gomez has performed and recorded with jazz giants including Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Dizzy Gillespie over more than four decades. Drummer Joe LaBarbera, a native of Mount Morris, New York outside of Rochester, is highly prized as a sideman who has worked with Tony Bennet, Bill Evans, and others in addition to studio work in his current home of Los Angeles. Pianist Stefan Karlsson is well-known as an educator in addition to being a much sought after sideman and solo performer.
A fourth star of the night is Scott LaFaro’s own Prescott double bass, which Eddie Gomez will play for this year’s celebration concert. The instrument, beloved by LaFaro and a legend in its own right, unfortunately was with him the night of the automobile accident. Although the double bass suffered heavy damage in the ensuing fire, it was restored in the 1980s by Barrie Kolstein of Samuel Kolstein & Son, Ltd. in Long Island. Today, the instrument is kept at Ithaca College, LaFaro’s alma mater, both for study and for playing at special occasions.
While the concert is free and open to the public, donations will be gratefully accepted to fund future activities to honor Scott LaFaro including the public art project and scholarships for Geneva area music students.
Geneva Night Out is an independent, grassroots coalition of area artists, business owners, merchants and residents working together to cultivate an increasingly inviting, walkable, diverse, and arts-friendly destination. The Smith Center for the Arts is committed to providing and sustaining diverse arts and education enrichment opportunities for Finger Lakes residents and visitors, while maintaining its historic venue, the Smith Opera House.
======================================
For more information contact Kelby Russell at kelbyj@gmail.com, visit Geneva Night Out website genevanightout.org
Or The Smith Center for the Arts website thesmith.org
