In 1962, Bill Evans went into the studio for the Riverside Records label to record the first sessions with his newly formed trio. The challenge for the pianist was great. Although he could still fall back on the drummer Paul Motian, who played with him since 1959. But the tragic death of bassist Scott LaFaro, who died in a car accident on July 6, 1961, had left a painful void in the trio. This was closed by Chuck Israels, who had previously belonged to the sextet of George Russel and also briefly to Eric Dolphy's band. How much the death of LaFaro had shaken the sensitive Evans, the recordings of “Moon Beams” show.