Bass Player: Scott LaFaro

The piano trio remains something of a special type of ensemble in Jazz and there are a number of trios that are celebrated; Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau etc but the trio vehicle really expanded when pianist Bill Evans joined drummer Paul Motian and double bass virtuoso Scott LaFaro in a legendary trio that lasted for a very short time before it was ended by LaFaro’s death in a car accident in 1961, aged just 25. In the couple of years that the trio existed, they recorded a number of influential albums including ‘Sunday At The Village Vanguard’ and ‘Waltz For Debby’, a set of live recordings that was captured on 25th July, 1961, just 10 days and before LaFaro’s death. It is widely agreed that it is the interplay within the trio that makes it so influential but it is also important to recognise the direction in which LaFaro was taking the instrument. Here is a transcription of LaFaro’s solo on the tune ‘My Romance’ from the ‘Waltz For Debby’ album.