Scott LaFaro bass. He played in groups at the College Spa and Joe's Restaurant on State Street in downtown Ithaca. Beginning in 1955, he was a member of the Buddy Morrow big band. He left that organization to work in Los Angeles. LaFaro spent most of his days practicing his instrument. He practiced with a clarinet book to improve his facility. Bassist Red Mitchell taught him how to pluck strings with both the index and middle fingers independently. For much of 1958 he was with Victor Feldman's band. In 1959, after working with Chet Baker, Stan Kenton, Cal Tjader, and Benny Goodman,
Benny Goodman late 1930s with his big band, his trio and quartet, and the sextet formed in August 1939, the same month Goodman returned to Columbia Records after four years with RCA Victor. At Columbia, John Hammond, his future brother-in-law, produced most of his sessions. By the mid-1940s, however, big bands had lost much of their popularity. In 1941, ASCAP had a licensing war with music publishers. From 1942 to 1944 and again in 1948, the musicians' union went on strike against the major record labels in the United States, and singers acquired the popularity that the big bands had once enjoyed.