Album Reviews

Explorations, the March 1961 second and final studio release on Riverside by the classic first Bill Evans Trio featuring piano maestro Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian, is remarkable on many levels. Craft Recordings’ recent, December 2024-released Small Batch AAA 180g 1LP edition of this influential, highly sought after jazz classic — the seventh in the company’s Small Batch series, which has included works by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk — is sure to be appreciated by jazz aficionados and audiophiles alike who have been searching for as definitive a vinyl pressing as possible.

Before we, um, explore that concept further, let’s run down the all-important DNA behind this sweet gem of a reissue. From the official Craft press materials, we learn, “As with all titles in the series, Explorations features lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI using Neotech’s VR900-D2 ‘super vinyl’ compound. Using a one-step lacquer process (as opposed to the standard three-step process), this exacting technique allows for the utmost level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record to ensure that each pressing is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording.” Not only that, but Craft even reproduced the period-accurate black Riverside Records stereo label design for this release.

In a limited run of 2,500 copies worldwide, each numbered copy of Craft’s Small Batch Explorations LP offers effectively three levels of basic disc protection beyond traditional packing materials, further ensuring the album’s safety in shipping (and storage in your collection). The actual vinyl platter resides in an audiophile-grade plastic-lined inner sleeve tucked away securely inside several layers of premium packaging. The album cover is recreated using high-quality, brown cardboard stock, crafted in a tip-on design akin to the original editions — and arguably sturdier than the OG LPs, frankly. This all comes to you housed within a super-rigid, foil-stamped, linen-wrapped, protective hard-shell slipcase.

The SRP for the deluxe-packaged Explorations Small Batch LP is $99, and it is available directly (and exclusively) from both Craft Recordings here, and Acoustic Sounds here.

Some additional background now. Explorations was made during a period of escalating tensions between bandmembers, reportedly exacerbated by Evans’ ongoing drug habit and related medical conditions. As can happen, however, the conflict resulted in the creation of some very focused, finessed, and interactive performances for the ages. Many Evans fans consider this session to be the peak moment of this trio’s work.

And that work was nothing to overlook, as Evans had ideas about expanding the way musicians interacted in an improvisational setting, and the power of this particular trio proved to be just that sea-change moment, impacting and influencing the future of jazz as we know it today. Explorations is ultimately a recording of rare beauty and fidelity, birthed amidst considerable adversity. (You can read more about its back story in Syd Schwartz’s expanded liner notes.)

Explorations was met with loving reviews upon its release on Riverside Records in March 1961 — including one from Billboard, which ultimately named it “Critics Best Piano” LP of the year. This success is made all the more heart-wrenching when you add in the hard-harsh reality that this trio’s magic would never convene again in the studio, as bassist Scott LaFaro died tragically in an automotive accident in July 1961, just after the group’s legendary residency at New York’s Village Vanguard. (Footnote 1)

In preparing this review, I faced a bit of a challenge, because Explorations was one of the Bill Evans albums I’ve been seeking and actually didn’t yet own in any form. I even scoured San Francisco’s local stores for any affordable reference copy in one last-ditch attempt prior to diving into this review process with no luck — no luck, that is, until I met with the good folks at Originals Vinyl (whom you too can visit here online). While they had just sold a 1980s edition of the Explorations album a few days prior to my visit, they had an on-wall display of a very rare, original 1961 stereo edition of the album on Riverside! It was in solid VG+ condition, but with a justifiable $200 price tag on it, I knew there was no chance of even trying to convince AP editor Mike Mettler to underwrite its purchase just for the sake of this review. (Footnote 2)

The owner of the shop, knowing me for many years now, empathized with my predicament, and — unprompted — kindly offered to loan the OG copy to me for a couple of days so I would have a good comparison source for this review! While Originals Vinyl had already been on our radar for a future record store feature here at AP, we remain especially grateful to their above-and-beyond help at this particular moment, underscoring the fact that the record collector’s universe is indeed an interconnected and supportive community.

Anyway, the comparison of this early 1961 Riverside pressing to the new Craft Recordings one-step Small Batch edition of Explorations proved very interesting indeed. The new remaster is generally excellent, offering some nice benefits for the listener, including an extremely quiet, sonically invisible sound floor thanks to the high-quality dark black “super vinyl” pressing. As with other releases in this fine Small Batch series, the Explorations LP is perfectly centered — something that is especially important for piano-based music, as an off-center LP can easily make a recording waver out of tune to the point of it being unlistenable. Happily, that is not the case here.

Perhaps the only downside is that the sonic footprint of the recording feels a bit different on the new Explorations LP compared to the original pressing. The original sounds a bit more open and airy, with a crisper high end. That’s not to say that the new Craft edition sounds in any way muddy or super-compressed as such, but it is different. I found myself turning up the volume a bit more on the new edition to better appreciate the nuance of its mastering approach.

There are, of course, numerous possibilities as to why the Small Batch edition of Explorations may be different-sounding. On one hand, there is the toll that time — and usage — can take on magnetic tape stock over the course of 60-plus years. Inevitably, every time the tape is played, some degradation occurs in the form of the physical shedding of magnetic particles that typically contain recorded information. Many times — at least as far as I can tell, these days — reissue producers literally bake tapes in a specially designed low-heat oven, which helps make sure the particles are as secure to the tape’s adhesives as possible before they even put the tape on the playback machine.

I did notice a curious detail that was tucked away in the booklet included with the Small Batch Explorations. If you look closely at the photos of the tape reel boxes, there is some writing near the bottom right in black marker that reads, “EQ’d master copy made 11-11-82, filed as OJC 037 A” — obviously referencing the “original” Original Jazz Classics series 1982 LP reissue of the album made at that time. I checked in with Craft Recordings about this, and they confirmed that it was apparently just a note to the engineers to help document the fact that another dub of the album was made then, and the notation was used to differentiate it from the original tape in the archives. Craft further confirmed with us that the original master tape was indeed used for making this Small Batch Explorations release.

All this said, while the original 1961-era pressing on Riverside sounds very good, I overall prefer the mastering on this new edition — especially in how the bass is treated, as it feels more balanced. For example, LaFaro’s first bass solo on “Israel” (Side 1, Track 1) is quite subdued on the OG copy, but he feels a bit more present on the new remaster. I also love how rich and round Motian’s brush work on this opening track sounds. These are some very nicely recorded and exceptionally detailed (for the time period) stereo drums!

Listening closely (and admittedly speculating somewhat), I also got the sense that the tape transport used may have been less steady than what was used for making the Small Batch editions. For example, there was some moderate tape noise and wavering on the original pressing during “Haunted Heart” (Side 1, Track 2), which was not as prominent as on the new reissue.

I know many analog purists don’t want to hear this, but I suspect that recordings with tape-speed issues like this could benefit greatly from Plangent Processes’ restoration technology (which I have written about here and elsewhere), stabilizing and correcting anomalies/inconsistencies resulting from motor-transport issues as well as tape-stock stretching, and such. Maybe someday, we’ll get to hear a separate reissue series along those lines to compare and contrast.

That said, if you are like me and have been looking for a nice copy of Bill Evans Trio’s Explorations, this new Small Batch edition sounds very respectable, and is quite enjoyable. The only little nit I have to pick is not related to the recording itself, but the album cover art. The cover image isn’t quite as vibrant as on the original edition — and again, we’re lucky to have had a pretty nice OG in hand for this review for us to be able to notice this sort of detailing issue. However, I also recognize that, these days, one can’t be too harsh about the visuals, because in some instances, original art sources may simply no longer exist. So, it is what it is, in that sense.

For those still set on finding a decent original pressing of Explorations, that prospect is a needle-in-a-haystack scenario at best — and a pricey one at that! For example, prior to this posting, there were just five original 1961 stereo pressings of Explorations listed on Discogs with asking prices beginning at $165 for a VG-plus condition copy on up to $350 for one listed as being NM, though none of them are available at present.

As far as other Explorations reissues go, perhaps you can track down one of those 1982 OJC editions, and there was an earlier 1974 Japanese reissue as well. For their part, Analogue Productions issued a 2LP 45rpm edition of Explorations back in 2004, but those pressings will currently run you anywhere from $225 up to $425 for an NM copy. (As of this posting, six copies are available on Discogs.)

And now, to the Ratings. There is no question about Explorations being a superlative album, and it rates an easy 11 for the Music. Sonics-wise, I give it a solid 9 for the Sound, acknowledging that there are some differences compared to the 1961 OG pressing. Frankly, even if I hadn’t been able to hear that 1961-era Riverside pressing, I still would have found this new Craft Recordings Small Batch Explorations LP worthy of a high rating, as it is overall a genuinely lovely listening experience.

Taking all this into consideration, the relative cost for this Craft Recordings small batch series edition of Bill Evans Trio’s Explorations — again, its SRP is $99, in a limited edition of 2,500 copies — seems like a fair value proposition. It is also probably one you should jump on sooner rather than later, especially if you are a fan of this album and the incredible music these three artists made here together.

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

---

Footnote 1: AP editor Mike Mettler adds: The Village Vanguard, of course, was the locale/source for two more classic Bill Evans Trio recordings on Riverside — October 1961’s Sunday at the Village Vanguard and March 1962’s Waltz for Debby, both of which appear in outstanding 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR editions from Analogue Productions. While we haven’t the chance to review either of them in depth here on AP per se, I can tell you from my own critical listening sessions that both of these Bill Evans Trio UHQRs rate 11 for Music and 11 for Sound, respectively.

Footnote 2: Mark is 100 percent correct in that assessment. Glad he instead got that loaner from our friends at Originals Vinyl, that’s for sure!

Incidentally, if you want to read any of our other Small Batch series reviews, go here, and scroll down to find what we thought of the Small Batch offerings for classic Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, Thelonious Monk, and Vince Guaraldi LP titles.

BILL EVANS TRIO
EXPLORATIONS
180g 1LP (Riverside/Craft Recordings)

Side 1
1. Israel
2. Haunted Heart
3. Beautiful Love
4. Elsa

Side 2
1. Nardis
2. How Deep Is The Ocean?
3. I Wish I Knew
4. Sweet And Lovely