Bill Evans Trio: Bill Evans (piano); Scott LaFaro (bass); Paul Motian (drums). Recorded at Reeves Sound Studios, New York, New York on December 28, 1959. Originally released on Riverside (1162). Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews. Digitally remastered by David Luke (1987, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). PORTRAIT IN JAZZ introduced the justly acclaimed Bill Evans Trio, the innovative little group featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian that would forever change standards of jazz playing, introducing a new kind of swing based on a flexible sense of time and interplay. Evans had already established himself on EVERYBODY DIGS BILL EVANS and, of course, the Miles landmark KIND OF BLUE. Now it was time to share the wealth. PORTRAIT IN JAZZ represents the beginning of this process, which wouldn't see full flower till the freewheeling Village Vanguard sessions more than a year later. In the meantime there are energetically abstract takes on "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?" as well as two equally fine takes of "Autumn Leaves"--one is a CD bonus track--on which Evans swings his heart out. The disc closes with two takes of the delicately somber "Blue In Green," a collaboration with Miles also featured on KIND OF BLUE and a welcome reminder of Evan's considerable skills as a composer.