Bill Evans Trio

Portrait in Jazz

First released1960

Portrait in Jazz was recorded on February 6, 1959, at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, by engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who was renowned for his high-quality jazz recordings. The album features Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums, capturing the trio's intimate interplay in a single session. This was one of the first jazz albums recorded in stereo at Van Gelder's facility, showcasing the engineer's meticulous attention to capturing the acoustic properties of the instruments. The recording marked a significant moment in jazz history as it documented Evans' lyrical, harmonically sophisticated approach to the standard repertoire and original compositions. The album's success helped establish Van Gelder's studio as a premier destination for jazz recording in the late 1950s and early 1960s.