About

Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings brings together the complete studio recordings by the Bill Evans Trio featuring Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Included are the albums Portrait in Jazz and Explorations, plus 26 alternate takes - 17 previously unreleased.

The collection includes rare photos, introduction by John Densmore (The Doors), and new liner notes by Eugene Holley Jr. and audio is newly remastered by Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.  — (via Label)

Features:

— The complete studio output by the Bill Evans Trio, one of the most influential piano trios in the history of jazz.
— Featuring their two acclaimed studio albums, Portrait in Jazz and Explorations.
— 26 stunning alternate takes and outtakes - 17 of which are previously unreleased.
— Audio restoration by Plangent Processes.
— Newly remastered by GRAMMY(R) Award-winning mastering engineer Paul Blakemore.
— Lacquers for the LP edition cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
— Package includes rare photos, an introduction from John Densmore (The Doors), and insightful new liner notes by jazz writer Eugene Holley, Jr.

—

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile, a barrier many believed human beings could never break. Today, any elite miler can run that time, which makes Bannister's accomplishment harder for modern sports fans to fully appreciate. Something similar happens when listening to pianist Bill Evans' two Riverside studio sessions, Portrait in Jazz (1959) and Explorations (1961), recorded some 65 years ago. Because contemporary pianists like Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Denny Zeitlin and Bill Charlap have absorbed and extended Evans' innovations, it can be easy to forget how revolutionary the Evans/Scott LaFaro/Paul Motian trio truly was.

Evans emerged during the era of piano giants. There was Art Tatum, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, each of whom transformed the instrument's language. Yet in their trio recordings, bassists and drummers typically remained in the background. Evans changed that dynamic entirely, cultivating a genuine three-way musical conversation. This transformation did not happen overnight. Before finding the ideal partner in LaFaro, Evans recorded for Riverside with bassists Teddy Kotick, Sam Jones and Paul Chambers. Drummer Philly Joe Jones preceded Motian. Only with LaFaro and Motian did Evans' concept crystallize.

It is also worth remembering that Evans was a catalytic force behind Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959), the best-selling jazz album of all time. His two Riverside sessions followed in quick succession: Portrait in Jazz on December 28, 1959, and Explorations on February 2, 1961. Just months later, in June of 1961, producer Orrin Keepnews captured maybe the most famous live recording in the jazz canon, Sunday At The Village Vanguard (Riverside, 1961), creating one of the most revered live documents in jazz history. Tragically, LaFaro died in a car accident shortly afterward, leading Evans to withdraw from performing for a period. Together, Evans, LaFaro and Motian forged what Evans called "simultaneous improvisation," a fluid, interactive approach heard in standards such as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Witchcraft" and "Sweet and Lovely," as well as in Davis' "Nardis" and the Evans/Davis collaboration "Blue in Green." Their collective voice became the blueprint for virtually every modern piano trio.

This new release includes 26 alternate takes, 17 previously unheard highlights and the trio's commitment to group interplay over solo virtuosity: three musicians not thinking alike, but thinking together. — (via All About Jazz)

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The 2025 anthology Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings includes the first two influential studio albums by pianist Bill Evans' legendary trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. One of the most influential jazz groups of all time, the Evans/LaFaro/Motian lineup has taken on an almost mythic quality. Formed mere months after the pianist completed the sessions for Miles Davis' landmark 1959 album Kind of Blue, the trio was an instant sensation, their work (much like Davis' album) helping to redefine the sound of modern jazz. Much of this was due to Evans' singular approach to the piano, marked by his use of classical-influenced impressionistic harmonies, rootless voicings, and singing melodic lines. However, with LaFaro's equally distinctive melodic bass lines and Motian's elastic sense of swing, he created a new kind of trio, where each member played together in a conversational way, rather than as simple accompaniment for the pianist.

Released in 1960, Portrait in Jazz introduced the trio's subtle interplay, and their renditions of standards like "Witchcraft," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (the latter preceding Miles Davis' version by a year) remain some of the most definitive versions put to record. The same is true of 1961's Explorations, which featured their deeply romantic rendition of "Haunted Heart" (a jazz piano staple ever since) and found them putting their own stamp on Davis songs like "Nardis" and "Israel."

While completists my quibble that the trio's two live albums, 1961's Sunday at the Village Vanguard and 1962's Waltz for Debby, are not included here, the focus on the studio recordings offers some revelations. Along with both studio albums, there are 26 alternates and outtakes, 17 of which are previously unreleased. While many of Evans' outtakes are often very similar in-studio, there are some surprising moments, as in his previously unreleased "Spring Is Here" off Portrait, which features a more extended, improvised intro into the melody. Similarly, from the Explorations sessions, we get to hear each of his attempts at the dancerly ascending motif that kicks off "Sweet and Lovely," each as virtuosic and edge-of-your-seat brilliant as the next. It's also fascinating to hear how clearly worked out, if not outright arranged, the trio's interplay was. It's something that becomes ever more clear as you listen to multiple versions of "Witchcraft," where you can hear LaFaro playing similar counter melodies against Evans' lead lines again and again with minor variation. Tragically, LaFaro's death in a car crash in 1961 ended the group's brilliant run almost as soon as it started. While Evans would go on to form two more influential trios, his classic lineup with LaFaro and Motian remained indelible, and Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings underscores that lasting influence. — (via AllMusic)

Vinyl Tracklist:

LP One - Portrait in Jazz (Stereo)    
A1 Come Rain or Come Shine (Take 5, Album Master)
A2 Autumn Leaves (Take 13, Stereo Album Master)
A3 Witchcraft (Take 5, Album Master)
A4 When I Fall In Love (Take 2, Album Master)
B1 Peri’s Scope (Take 2, Album Master)
B2 What Is This Thing Called Love (Take 4, Album Master)
B3 Spring Is Here (Take 6, Album Master)
B4 Someday My Prince Will Come (Take 5, Album Master)
B5 Blue in Green (Take 3, Album Master)

LP Two - Alternate Takes from the Portrait in Jazz Session (Mono)
C1 Witchcraft (Take 4, Alternate, Mono)
C2 Witchcraft (Take 6, Alternate, Mono)
C3 Spring Is Here (Take 4, Alternate, Mono)
C4 Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 2, Alternate, Mono)
C5 Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 4, Alternate, Mono)
D1 Autumn Leaves (Take 9, Mono Album Master)
D2 Blue in Green (Take 1, Alternate, Mono)
D3 Blue in Green (Take 2, Alternate, Mono)
D4 Someday My Prince Will Come (Take 1, Alternate, Mono)

LP Three - Explorations (Stereo)    
E1 Israel (Take 1, Stereo Album Master)
E2 Haunted Heart (Take 3, Stereo Album Master)
E3 Beautiful Love (Take 2, Stereo Album Master)
E4 Elsa (Take 5, Stereo Album Master)
F1 Nardis (Take 2, Stereo Album Master)
F2 How Deep Is the Ocean (Take 3, Stereo Album Master)
F3 I Wish I Knew (Take 4, Stereo Album Master)
F4 Sweet and Lovely (Take 4, Stereo Album Master)

LP Four - Alternate Takes from the Explorations Session (Stereo)    
G1 Elsa (Take 4, Alternate, Stereo)
G2 Elsa (Take 6, Alternate, Stereo)
G3 Sweet and Lovely (Take 3, Alternate, Stereo)
G4 Sweet and Lovely (Take 5, Alternate, Stereo)
H1 Sweet and Lovely (Take 6, Alternate, Stereo)
H2 Nardis (Take 1, Alternate, Stereo)
H3 Beautiful (Take 1, Alternate, Stereo)
H4 I Wish I Knew (Take 2, Alternate, Stereo)

LP Five - Alternate Takes & Outtakes from the Explorations Session (Stereo)    
I1 I Wish I Knew (Take 3, Alternate, Stereo)
I2 I Wish I Knew (Take 5, Alternate, Stereo)
I3 Haunted Heart (Take 2, Alternate, Stereo)
I4 The Boy Next Door (Take 1, Outtake, Stereo)
J1 The Boy Next Door (Take 4, Outtake, Stereo)
J2 The Boy Next Door (Take 6, Outtake, Stereo)
J3 Walking Up (Take 1, Outtake, Stereo)
J4 How Deep Is the Ocean (Take 1, Alternate, Stereo)
J5 How Deep Is the Ocean (Take 2, Alternate, Stereo)

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Label: Craft Recordings
Format: 5 x Vinyl, LP, Remastered, Stereo
Released: 2025 
Originally recorded: Portrait in Jazz (1959) / Explorations (1961)
Genre: Jazz
Style: Audiophile, Piano

File under: Jazz - Bill Evans
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