Scott LaFaro was a pioneering jazz double bassist whose innovative, melodic style helped redefine the instrument's role before his life was cut short in a car accident in the summer of 1961, aged just 25. Though less widely known today than contemporaries such as Charles Mingus, LaFaro's influence extended to later musicians including Cream's Jack Bruce, and his death robbed jazz of a talent many believed was on course to become one of the instrument's all-time greats.

Raised in upstate New York, LaFaro took up the double bass at 18 and progressed rapidly, joining a professional band within a year and working with Chet Baker, Stan Kenton and Benny Goodman by the age of 23. His most celebrated partnership was with pianist Bill Evans, whom he joined alongside drummer Paul Motian in the Bill Evans Trio, recording the landmark albums Portrait In Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961). By 1961 he was also collaborating with Ornette Coleman and Stan Getz, and rejoined Evans for a residency at New York's Village Vanguard that June, shortly before his death.