Bill Evans Trio – Explorations (New Vinyl)

NEW LP

New sealed copy. 2015 reissue.

Explorations is an album by jazz pianist Bill Evans that was originally released by Riverside Records in 1961. It was the second and final studio album Evans recorded with his classic trio featuring Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums.

The album is a follow-up to the trio's first recording from two years earlier, Portrait in Jazz. The delay in making a new record was largely attributable to Evans's drug habit and resulting hepatitis, which led LaFaro to play and record in the meantime with Ornette Coleman. When Explorations was finally recorded, it was not under happy circumstances. As Evans biographer Keith Shadwick relates: "Tension ... simmered, particularly between Evans and the abrasive LaFaro, who made no secret of his disgust at Evans's addiction. LaFaro played on a borrowed instrument, while the pianist was quickly complaining of a headache, probably brought on by the strain in the studio." Nonetheless, the resulting album turned out to be an influential and enduring classic that "brilliantly illustrates [Evans's] innovative concept of 'simultaneous improvisation.'"

TRACKLIST:

A1        Israel
A2        Haunted Heart
A3        Beautiful Love
A4        Elsa
B1        Nardis
B2        How Deep Is The Ocean?
B3        I Wish I Knew
B4        Sweet And Lovely