Joe Magnarelli / Magic Trick

“Explorations”, recorded on February 2, 1961, was Bill Evans’ fourth LP as a leader and the second studio album by his legendary trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Their first recording together had been the studio album Portrait inJazz, taped on December 28, 1959, which marked Evans’ third album as a leader, following New Jazz Conceptions N(1956) and Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958). Although both Evans and LaFaro participated on Tony Scott’s LP “Sung Heroes”, recorded in October 1959, they didn’t play on all of the tracks and they scarcely interact there. Evans and LaFaro’s superb chemistry was evident from the very first tune they recorded. The Evans-LaFaro-Motian Trio would reach a climax with their June 25, 1961 club recordings at the Village Vanguard in New York. LaFaro would die in a car accident just ten days later, at the age of 25.