Clare Fischer lived many musical lives, first as a jazz pianist and composer with an affinity for Latin sounds, and later as a string arranger for pop artists. Born Douglas Clare Fischer on October 22, 1928, Fischer grew up in a musical family and attended Michigan State University. Early in his career, he provided keyboard accompaniment and arrangements for the jazz vocal group the Hi-Lo’s, and later contributed arrangements to Dizzy Gillespie’s A Portrait of Duke Ellington in 1960.

Fischer then struck out on his own and released a handful of albums of straightforward piano-based jazz for the Pacific Jazz Records label. He soon refreshed his sound when he found himself taken by the Latin jazz movement, which resulted in the mid-’60s albums So Danco Samba and Manteca!

In addition to his own compositions and recordings, Fischer became an in-demand figure in the pop world, and used his background in classical theory to contribute string arrangements to songs of artists including Prince (with whom he had an extensive working relationship), Céline Dion, Michael Jackson, and Paul McCartney.

While his original albums weren’t huge sellers, Fischer became a regular presence on the Grammy nominations lists, notching 13 nominations and three wins. His first win came in 1981, when he was awarded Best Latin Recording for the song “Guajira Pa La Jeva” from the album 2+2. He would receive two posthumous trophies, in 2012 and 2013, for Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition. He died on January 26, 2012.

Clare Fischer

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