The latest entry in Craft Recordings’ Small Batch series is Explorations, the 1961 album by the Bill Evans Trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motion. It is a masterpiece deserving of the highest quality standards, which it receives in this limited edition, its 2,500 copies mastered from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed onto 180 gram vinyl using Neotech’s VR900-D2 “super vinyl” compound in a one-step lacquer process. Exquisitely packaged as always, the set is available now.
Explorations is the second of only two studio records made by Bill Evans’ finest and most celebrated trio, and yet the record has at times been undervalued in the concise discography of the group that made it. It’s a scenario that extends to the pianist’s far more expansive body of work. There are two reasons Explorations is occasionally not given its full due; the first is related to a lack of original compositions, and secondly, the album was followed by a pair of live albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, that are generally considered the creative pinnacle of Evans’ career.
When Evans’ creative longevity is taken into consideration, and when Explorations’ lack of a “Waltz for Debby” (the pianist’s most famous composition) or anything penned by LaFaro gets figured into the equation (the bassist’s tunes “Gloria’s Step” and “Jade Visions” a big part of Sunday at the Village Vanguard’s appeal), one can begin to comprehend how the trio’s second studio album occasionally takes a back seat in the grand scheme of things (their debut Portrait in Jazz offers two well-known works composed by Evans, “Peri’s Scope” and “Blue and Green”).
However, the title Explorations fits the album’s contents perfectly, as the group’s collective interactions imbue some well-worn chestnuts with vitality that persists right into the present moment. The record opens with the crisply grooving “Israel,” the superb playing of both LaFaro and Motion, peaking with their solos, helping to set the tone for what follows. On the other side, Explorations ends with a miraculous version of “Sweet and Lovely” that roves restlessly across the tune’s melodic spectrum until it settles into a high swinging intensity, and then the three just ride it out.
Although the recognizable patterns of Modern Jazz are present throughout the set, LaFaro and Motion avoid backsliding into default support mode, even during the balladic material such as “Haunted Heart,” “Elsa,” and “I Wish I Knew.” And Evans never succumbs to just gliding along with the melodies, even when he’s at his most energetic, as in the back half of “Beautiful Love.” Likewise, the trio breathes new life into Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean?”, rather than just rolling through the changes and accenting all the sweet spots.
Explorations’ best known selection (in relation to Evans, anyway) might be “Nardis,” a Miles Davis composition Evans was recording for the second of at least a dozen times (in support of Cannonball Adderley on his 1958 LP Portrait of Cannonball was the first). Attempting a definitive ranking of Evans’ numerous dives into “Nardis” would likely be a maddening endeavor, but the version heard here is surely close to, if not the best as it sets the standard for what would come later.
By extension, Explorations belongs near the very top of the list of Bill Evans masterworks. That means it’s amongst the finest recordings in the history of jazz. Experiencing the original eight-song sequence in superior audio reinforces the sheer brilliance of this remarkable trio.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
