"[4] These five tracks were initially released on Friedman's album Memories for Scotty, issued in 1988 by the Japanese label Insights.
[5][6][7] 2009 also saw the publication of the LaFaro biography Jade Visions, written by the bassist's sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez, and published by University of North Texas Press as part of their Lives of Musicians Series.
"[10] AAJ's Stuart Broomer called the album "a fitting tribute to an essential musician, a complement to the masterpieces LaFaro created with Evans.
"[11] Ron Hart, writing for PopMatters, commented: "Pieces of Jade offers a rare glimpse into LaFaro's creative process.
"[12] The Absolute Sound's Bill Milkowski praised LaFaro's "melodic ingenuity along with his uncanny speed and facility," and noted that, in the trio pieces, his "ability to spontaneously and effortlessly interject contrapuntal ideas against the flow of each piece marks him as a revolutionary accompanist in a piano trio setting.