Considering the legendary bassist
Scott LaFaro released no albums as a leader and was known strictly as a sideman, that this recording exists is nothing less than a miracle, and an event in the annals of jazz. It consists of a brief program featuring five selections with the equally brilliant pianist
Don Friedman and drummer
Pete La Roca, a long rehearsal tape of "My Foolish Heart" with
the Bill Evans Trio circa 1966, a 1966 interview about
LaFaro with
Evans, and a solo piano piece from
Friedman done in 1985. So while only half of the disc faithfully features
LaFaro's deep and honest bass playing, it is more than worthwhile to finally hear. Of the tracks with
Friedman,
LaFaro's bass is clearly heard, up in the production mix, and holds its own as a distinctive voice, his solid, resonant quarter notes pounding out these rhythms like few ever have. But it is
Friedman, a brilliant jazz musician in his own right, who shines mightily on this date, and in many ways trumps
Evans in terms of chops, invention, and bop energy. His fingers are flying on "I Hear a Rhapsody," buoyed by the swing of
LaFaro, while conversely able to fluidly flow through non-stressed lines on "Green Dolphin Street," where his extrapolated lines combine innovation with subtlety. There are two takes of the
Friedman original "Sacre Bléu," as the pianist delves deep into pure melody with slightly off-minor shadings and chiming piano chords, followed by classic
LaFaro bass solos.
A version of "Woody'n You" is another furiously sped-up bop with nary a dropped note, while
La Roca steams ahead, pushes the group, and challenges
LaFaro and
Friedman like he and few other bop-based drummers can. The solo piano piece "Memories for Scotty" is an elegant elegy or requiem for the longtime deceased bassist in hushed tones, presenting reverent remembrances and the attitude that he is sorely missed. The
Bill Evans Trio take of "My Foolish Heart" is included strictly for historical purposes, a curiosity that at almost 23 minutes is tedious, and not well recorded.
George Klabin's interview with
Evans from 1966 is illuminating, as the pianist talks extensively about meeting
LaFaro (and playing "strange" music with
Chet Baker), immediately observing he was "overplaying" his instrument, feeling he was a "large" person when physically he was not, and remembering that his talent was bubbling over before he learned the virtue of restraint. Considering this is released some 50 years after
LaFaro's death in a car accident at age 25, and that his career lasted a mere seven years, any nitpicking about this issue should be dismissed. It's a rare window into the soul of
Scott LaFaro apart from his great sessions with
Evans, and a complement to the book written by his sister Helene LaFaro Fernandez, Jade Visions. ~ Michael G. Nastos