The Legendary Scott LaFaro is a highly regarded compilation showcasing the revolutionary bassist's brief but immense career (roughly 1958-1961), featuring his work with Bill Evans, Ornette Coleman, and others. It highlights his melodic, fluid, and high-register style, which redefined modern jazz bass, with recordings often hailed as "genius" and essential for jazz history.

Miles Davis had publicly called him a madman. Leonard Bernstein found him, for his part, completely awesome. Few were those that didn’t have a definitive opinion on Ornette Coleman. Some kind of outlaw who preferred playing his own compositions rather than jazz classics, the American saxophonist also developed harmolodics, a theory uniting harmonics and melody. This box of ten discs compiles one of the most important era in the career of his author. Between 1959 and 1961, he released six studio albums for the Atlantic label. Six albums that are present here and spiced up with alternative takes and various bonuses, all of this of course impeccably remastered by John Webber. Albums included: The Shape Of Jazz To Come (1959), Change Of The Century (1959), This Is Our Music (1960), Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960), Ornette! (1961) and Ornette On Tenor (1961), and the compilations The Art Of Improvisers (1970), Twins (1971), To Whom Who Keeps A Record (1975) and The Ornette Coleman Legacy (1993).

Scott LaFaro was one of the twentieth century’s most influential jazz musicians. During his tragically short life, Scott LaFaro quickly developed into one of the most advanced bassists around, competing with Charlie Haden and Charles Mingus. He emphasized high notes, could play with great speed, and his interplay with Bill Evans in their trio was mutually stimulating and influential. Best known for his landmark recordings with Bill Evans, LaFaro played bass a mere seven years before his life and career were cut short by an automobile accident when he was only 25 years old, his sudden death causing a major shock to the jazz world.

Hampton Hawes, “For Real!” was recorded in 1958 but not released on the Contemporary Records label until 1961. Featuring Hawes (piano) alongside Harold Land (tenor sax), Scott LaFaro (bass) and Frank Butler (drums) the album incudes a mixture of both jazz standards and originals. This new edition features remastered hi-res audio from the original tapes.

A truly landmark jazz recording, 1961’s "Waltz for Debby" redefined the possibilities of the piano trio. Scott LaFaro’s ultra-melodic bass-work, Paul Motian’s fluid drumming, Evans’ virtuosic, impressionistic playing and the trio’s nearly telepathic interplay set a standard that has yet to be exceeded. This hi-res remastering adds new depth and warmth to an already essential audiophile live set.