“Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings” is a comprehensive collection of material by the trio of Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian recorded for Riverside Records in two sessions, in 1959 and 1961. It’s an essential addition to any jazz library.

Like many who are reading this review, I have had the albums released from those sessions, “Portrait In Jazz” and “Explorations”, in my collection for many years. Each time I return to them, I find new details, and appreciate their depth of expression. For jazz lovers today, these two studio dates and the live albums “Sunday at the Village Vanguard” and “Waltz For Debby” convey an almost indescribably poignant beauty, tempered by our knowledge of the tragic death of bassist Scott LaFaro that occurred only weeks after the Village Vanguard gigs.

The tracks on “Haunted Heart” were remastered by Paul Blakemore in 24/192 from original master tapes, and released in 2025 by Craft Recordings in 24/192 download, two-CD, and 5-LP versions. Craft compiled 17 never-before released alternate takes along with the master takes – a total of 26 alternate takes from both studio sessions.

For purposes of this review, I listened to tracks from the two original albums in XRCD, SACD, LP needle drops, and the 24/192 versions. Comparison of the various releases left no doubt that the Craft 24/192 release displays greater clarity and soundstage depth than the SACDs Bill Evans Trio: Portrait in Jazz, Bill Evans Trio: Explorations (both on Fantasy), and Bill Evans Trio: Explorations (Universal Japan). Blakemore’s use of Plangent Processes to produce speed-stabilized 24/192 transfers makes clearly audible improvements. Plangent Processes captures the bias tone from the original master tape, and performs signal processing to remove the subtle distortion caused by high-frequency flutter. You can hear the difference; the process ‘sharpens focus’ on the instruments, and deepens the soundstage.

The December 28, 1959 studio performances advanced the evolution of the contemporary jazz piano trio. On the album’s seven standards and two Evans originals (“Peri’s Scope” and “Blue In Green”) the role of the bassist is elevated to co-equal status with the pianist.

Then 23-year-old Scott LaFaro belonged to a cohort of bass players who were defining a new conception for the instrument. Preceding the date for “Portrait in Jazz” were 1958 sessions by Cecil Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, and Ornette Coleman’s November 1959 session for “The Shape of Jazz to Come” with Charlie Haden, to name only two examples of the new direction in bass. Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Henry Grimes and other young bass players were extending the role of the instrument well beyond mere timekeeping and accompaniment. LaFaro’s tightly entwined ensemble lines and virtuoso solos enshrined the album as a landmark. 60 years later, jazz piano trios continue to draw inspiration from this session.

There are nine alternate takes from the “Portrait In Jazz” date, all of which are mono masters. While listeners will appreciate the improved sound quality of the 1959 session masters and alternates, it’s the inclusion of the previously unreleased stereo alternate takes from the February 2, 1961 “Explorations” session that makes “Haunted Heart” such a revelation. The alternate takes open a window onto the creative workings of Bill Evans.

In the 1950s and early 1960s most jazz studio sessions recorded one or two takes per piece, excluding breakdowns (incomplete performances). Bob Weinstock at Prestige was notoriously parsimonious with studio time; there are no alternate takes included on Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings.

What is especially unusual about the “Explorations” date is that Bill Evans was given ample time by producer Orrin Keepnews to record so many complete takes of the same pieces, and moreover, that Evans’ interpretations are so different from one another. Judging by the take numbers, which can be found online at the Craft Recordings web page for the LP box set, Evans and Keepnews generally selected later takes. The released master of Earl Zindar’s song “Elsa” is take 5. In the “Haunted Heart” set are alternate takes 4 and 6, either of which could have been included in the released album, and the same is true of the other alternates.

Although a few alternate takes from “Explorations” appeared on CD box sets and on the SACD releases Bill Evans Trio: Explorations (Fantasy) and Bill Evans Trio: Explorations (Universal Japan), Bill Evans biographers Keith Shadwick and Peter Pettinger did not have access to the complete alternate takes. The sections of their books that comment on the February 2 session do not address the breadth of Evans’ creative process in evidence on that date. Shadwick refers to Evans’ “perfected approach to familiar material” and Pettinger observes that “there is a feeling of restraint in the trio’s playing”, yet in the larger context of all the complete takes it becomes clear that Evans’ approach was neither perfected nor restrained; he was adventurously exploring different structural and harmonic approaches. Some of Evans’ piano intros (to the same tune) sound oblique, even hesitant, while others are forcefully declamatory. Each alternate stands as a separate, discrete improvisation.

It is also an overstatement for Shadwick to harp on the familiarity of the material. Three of the eight released tunes were not conventional standards: Johnny Carisi’s “Israel” (first recorded by Miles Davis on the “Birth of the Cool” sessions) had not yet become an established jazz standard, and “Nardis” and “Elsa” were both recent compositions at the time of the session.

Using music library software, the bonus “Explorations” tracks can be compiled into a second, nearly complete alternate album (substitute “Walking Up” for the single-take “Israel”), that in my opinion, would be equally a masterpiece. And there would still be additional takes left over.

This release gets my highest recommendation.

Equipment used for this review:

24/192 and DSF files stored on solid state drives
Mac Mini server running Audirvāna Origin
exaSound e32 Mk II DAC
Unison Unico tube/hybrid integrated amp
Focal 1007 BE stand mount loudspeakers

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