Craft Recordings has just released the latest installment in their premium Small Batch audiophile LP series with a reissue of the Bill Evans Trio's classic 1961 sophomore effort, Explorations. The album would mark the final studio session with Evans' classic trio that featured Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, and would come two years following the group's initial success with their debut release, 1959's Portrait in Jazz. The lengthy delay for the album's release centered around Bill Evans' deepening heroin addiction, and the studio sessions for Explorations were reportedly a fairly strained affair between the members of the trio. The album was both a critical and commercial success, and won the Billboard Jazz Critics award for Best Piano Jazz album of 1961. Within weeks of Explorations' release, the trio would convene for their final recordings at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City, which would result in the albums Sunday At The Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debby. Bassist Scott LaFaro would be killed in a tragic automobile accident shortly after that series of live dates; Bill Evans' first great trio was now history, and it would take months for him to recover from the shock of LaFaro's death and return to the studio and stage.
Craft's Small Batch series uses a one-step lacquer process that streamlines the more conventional three-step, mother/father lacquer process. Eliminating the additional steps allows for significantly improved levels of musical detail and increased clarity and dynamics, along with a lowering of any surface and groove noise that might otherwise be present in the finished LP. The process allows for greater consistency in the limited quantity record pressing runs. The LPs are pressed at RTI using Neotech's VR900 Supreme vinyl; this premium reissue is strictly limited to 2500 copies worldwide. All Small Batch LPs are fully all-analog, 180 gram, AAA pressings that have been cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood. Craft's Small Batch series guarantees that each record will provide the listener with an LP playback experience that's as close to the original master recording as possible.
Small Batch LPs are individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, embossed, linen-wrapped slipcase that features a high-quality acrylic image of the original album cover artwork that's bonded to the outer slipcase. The package design is a perfect example of form and function, and features a unique, frictionless ribbon pull tab that allows for effortless removal of the LP jacket from the protective slipcase. Its design is unusual among high-end LP releases, but it's handsome, exceptionally well-executed, and works flawlessly. The tip-on LP outer jacket features the original, high-resolution artwork sourced from Concord's vaults, and also features a high-gloss coating that matches the appearance of the original LP release. The 180 gram LP is inserted into an RTI-branded archival-quality, non-scratching inner sleeve that protects the LP and keeps it free from paper dust and static buildup. It's a perfectionist touch that reissues of this caliber demand and audiophiles everywhere deserve. This Small Batch reissue of Explorations also features a detailed insert with all pertinent technical information and new liner notes from Syd Schwartz, music journalist, longtime music executive, and author of the Jazz and Coffee Substack (@jazzandcoffee on Instagram). Craft's Small Batch reissue of Explorations has limited online availability, and can only be ordered from Craft's web storeHERE, and also from Acoustic Sounds HERE.
Bill Evans Trio, Explorations. 180 Gram Craft Recordings Small Batch LP, $99 MSRP
Bill Evans' stint as the pianist in Miles Davis' 1959 sextet—especially his work on the penultimate jazz album, Kind of Blue—elevated his profile in the jazz world to a point where his conception of the jazz trio expanded the boundaries of the format, much to the delight of jazz aficionados everywhere. Much has been written about Evans' ongoing heroin addiction and the studio tensions surrounding the recording of Explorations, where Scott LaFaro—who had no patience for Evans' drug use—screamed at the pianist virtually throughout their entire time in the studio. And Evans constantly complained of having a headache; both he and session producer Orrin Keepnews felt certain that nothing from any of the recordings would be worthwhile or salvageable. Astonishingly, Explorations shows no signs of any of that stress, and the album is perhaps the most fully-formed Bill Evans Trio studio LP. The album surprisingly features no Evans originals, but includes songs that became staples of his concert set lists and have been featured on programmer playlists for decades onward, including Earl Zindar's classic "Elsa" and Miles Davis' "Nardis," which would become one of Evans' signature tunes.
Track List:
Side A:
- Israel
- Haunted Heart
- Beautiful Love
- Elsa
Side B:
- Nardis
- How Deep Is The Ocean?
- I Wish I Knew
- Sweet And Lovely
Craft's Small Batch LPs Offer an Exceptional Listening Experience!
Clicking on my name in the header above will show the full complement of components that occupy my dual audio setups. For Explorations, I used the all-analog system for my evaluation; it now features a pair of XSA Labs Vanguard compact monitor loudspeakers. The Vanguards are positioned in a nearfield listening setup, and offer an updated homage to classic British monitor designs like the LS3/5A. The loudspeakers are running in tandem with a pair of Caldera 10 subwoofers to add a couple of extra octaves to the overall bass response. The all-analog setup incorporates PS Audio's superb Stellar phono preamplifier, and the system is powered by my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amplifier. It now features a matched quad of RAY Tubes Reserve EL34 power tubes and three matched pairs of RAY Select 12AU7 output tubes, which has elevated the EVO 300's performance to a wondrous new level of analog goodness. My ProJect Classic turntable that's mounted with an Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge tracked RTI's pressing perfectly, giving Craft's Small Batch LP of Explorations the kind of elegantly nuanced all-analog sound one usually only hopes for!
RTI's 180 gram Neotech's VR900 Supreme vinyl LP of Explorations was flawless, pristine, and razor-flat, with beautifully glossy, defect-free surfaces that yielded zero ticks or groove noise, providing a perfect foundation for transmission of this thrilling music across my recently upgraded analog system. Bernie Grundman's new master has greater clarity, improved dynamics, a better spatial presentation, and deeper, more well-defined bass than my 1982 original OJC reissue. Which I thought sounded pretty great—but having listened to Craft's Small Batch reissue on heavy rotation over the last few weeks, I've been continually impressed with how very good this LP now sounds, and what an astonishing difference the one-step process makes in my enjoyment of these classic sides. This exceptional reissue definitely sets the gold standard in terms of sound quality for this quintessential LP!
You owe it to yourself to hear Explorations in the ultimate version Craft Recordings has given us with this excellent Small Batch LP—I have the Fantasy SACD that was issued in the early 2000's, and while I also thought it was a pretty good transfer, it pales in comparison to the new one step LP. Don't hesitate to pull the trigger on this one, the Small Batch LPs tend to sell out very quickly! Thanks to Jacob Kossak and everyone at Craft Recordings; Bill Evans' Explorations comes very highly recommended!
Craft Recordings
All images courtesy of Craft Recordings
