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Explorations

by

Bill Evans

 
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Explorations
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Avg: 4.5 (77 ratings)

Tremendous chops and idea-rich melody lines

  • We Say...

    Review by Harvey Pekar

    Bill Evans was, from the mid '60s to his 1980 death, among the greatest and most influential of jazz pianists, marking the styles of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, and many others. He had excellent technique, originality, a full, pretty timbre and imagination. Evans was one of the founders of modal jazz — he was a key player on Miles Davis' modal landmark Kind of Blue — and brought classical impressionism into play in his solos. He cited Lennie Tristano, from whom he picked up a lot rhythmically, Bud Powell and Horace Silver among his influences. To them should probably be added Red Garland — their voicings were very similar, though not exactly the same, and Garland's reemphasis on chordal playing during solos seems to have marked Evans.

    This recording, dating from 1961, is among Evans' best, made with his great trio including bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. LaFaro was a major influence on bass players though he died at 25. Listen here to his tremendous chops and idea-rich lines. Motian was and is one of the most tasteful and musical of jazz drummers. The varied program here brings out the best in everyone. There are ballads ("Haunted Heart," "Beautiful Love," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "The Boy Next Door"), John Carisi's unusual blues "Israel" and Miles Davis's modal "Nardis." Everyone's at the top of his game and their interplay is superb. The performances are certainly strong and aggressive enough, but lyricism is their most notable characteristic.

  • They Say...

    Review by Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

    When this album was recorded in February of 1961, it had been more than year since the Portrait in Jazz was issued, the disc that won the critics over. By the time of this issue, Evans had released four albums in six years, a pace unheard of during that time. Most musicians were issuing two, three, and even four records a year during the same era. Many speculate on Evans' personal problems at the time, but the truth of the matter lies in the recordings themselves, and Explorations proves that the artist was worth waiting for no matter what else was going on out there. Evans, with Paul Motian and Scott LaFaro, was onto something as a trio, exploring the undersides of melodic and rhythmic constructions that had never been considered by most. For one thing, Evans resurrects a number of tunes that had been considered hopelessly played out, and literally reinvents them -- "How Deep Is the Ocean" and "Sweet and Lovely." His harmonic richness that extends the melodic and color palette of these numbers literally revived them from obscurity and brought them back into the canon. He also introduced "Haunted Heart" into the jazz repertoire, with a wonderfully impressionistic melodic structure, offered space, and depth by the understatement of Motian and extension by LaFaro's canny use of intervals. Also noteworthy is Miles Davis' "Nardis," which Evans first played on a Cannonball Adderley set a couple of years before. The rhythmic workout by the Motian and LaFaro places Evans' own playing in a new context, with shorter lines, chopping up the meter, and a series of arpeggios that open the ground for revelatory solo in counterpoint by LaFaro. Explorations is an extraordinary example of the reach and breadth of this trio at its peak.

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