Waltz for Debby (song)
Encyclopedia
"Waltz for Debby" is a jazz standard
composed by Bill Evans
. A piano trio
jazz waltz
, it was first recorded on Evans's 1956 album New Jazz Conceptions
and, perhaps more famously, on his 1961 live album
Waltz for Debby. It has been recorded by many artists, both as an instrumental and as a vocal piece. The song's lyrics were written by Gene Lees
.
"Debby" in the song title refers to Evans' niece, Debby Evans.
The song is also known in Swedish by the name "Monicas vals", with lyrics by Beppe Wolgers
.
(1956):
On Waltz for Debby (1961):
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
composed by Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
. A piano trio
Jazz trio
The term "piano trio" in jazz usually refers to a group comprising a pianist, a double bass player and a drummer. The pianist is usually considered the leader of these trios, and trios are usually named after their pianist...
jazz waltz
Jazz waltz
A Jazz waltz is a waltz in jazz style, thus played in a syncopated 3/4, 6/4, or 6/8 time signature, occasionally also in 5/4. Frequently a feeling of swing is created in the accompaniment by anticipating the second beat or third beat by a quaver...
, it was first recorded on Evans's 1956 album New Jazz Conceptions
New Jazz Conceptions
New Jazz Conceptions is the debut album as leader by jazz musician Bill Evans, released in 1956 on Riverside Records.-History:Producer Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of Evans' playing...
and, perhaps more famously, on his 1961 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Waltz for Debby. It has been recorded by many artists, both as an instrumental and as a vocal piece. The song's lyrics were written by Gene Lees
Gene Lees
Frederick Eugene John "Gene" Lees was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and former journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States where he was a music critic and lyricist...
.
"Debby" in the song title refers to Evans' niece, Debby Evans.
The song is also known in Swedish by the name "Monicas vals", with lyrics by Beppe Wolgers
Beppe Wolgers
John Bertil "Beppe" Wolgers was a Swedish author, poet, translator, lyricist, actor, entertainer and artist.Wolgers was born in Stockholm...
.
Awards
- Don SebeskyDon SebeskyDon Sebesky is an American jazz trombonist and arranger.-Biography:Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton...
: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental ArrangementGrammy Award for Best Instrumental ArrangementThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
(from I Remember Bill: The Tribute to Bill Evans, 1999) - Gary BurtonGary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
and Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental SoloGrammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental SoloThe Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
(from The New Crystal Silence, 2008)
Personnel
On New Jazz ConceptionsNew Jazz Conceptions
New Jazz Conceptions is the debut album as leader by jazz musician Bill Evans, released in 1956 on Riverside Records.-History:Producer Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of Evans' playing...
(1956):
- Bill EvansBill EvansWilliam John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Teddy KotickTeddy KotickTeddy Kotick was a jazz bassist who appeared as a sideman with many of the leading figures of the 1940s and 1950s, including Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Horace Silver, Phil Woods and Bill Evans....
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
On Waltz for Debby (1961):
- Bill Evans – piano
- Scott LaFaroScott LaFaroRocco Scott LaFaro was an influential jazz bassist, perhaps best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio.-Biography:...
– bass - Paul Motian – drums
By Evans
- New Jazz ConceptionsNew Jazz ConceptionsNew Jazz Conceptions is the debut album as leader by jazz musician Bill Evans, released in 1956 on Riverside Records.-History:Producer Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of Evans' playing...
(1956) - Waltz for Debby (1961) (The track also appears on The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, a three-CD box set released in 2005, marks the first time the entire Bill Evans Trio's complete sets at the Village Vanguard on June 25, 1961 have been released in their entirety...
, along with an alternate take) - Know What I Mean?Know What I Mean?Know What I Mean? is a 1961 album by jazz musician Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, accompanied by Bill Evans and the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet...
(1961 Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans) - Waltz for DebbyWaltz for Debby (1964 album)Waltz for Debby is a 1964 album by jazz musician Bill Evans and Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund.It was reissued by Verve Records in 2006.-Reception:...
(1964, with Monica ZetterlundMonica ZetterlundEva Monica Zetterlund was a Swedish singer and actress.-Biography:Zetterlund was a singer particularly noted for her jazz work. She began by learning the classic jazz songs from radio and records, initially not knowing the language and what they sang about in English...
) - You're Gonna Hear From MeYou're Gonna Hear from Me (album)-Track listing:# "You're Gonna Hear From Me" - 3:02# "'Round Midnight" - 6:22# "Waltz for Debby" - 5:29# "Nardis" - 8:59# "Time Remembered" - 5:02...
(recorded 1969 released 1988) - The Bill Evans AlbumThe Bill Evans AlbumThe Bill Evans Album is an album by jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1971.At the Grammy Awards of 1972, The Bill Evans Album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo and the Best Jazz Performance by a Group awards....
(1972) - The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans AlbumThe Tony Bennett/Bill Evans AlbumThe Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album is a 1975 album by the singer Tony Bennett, accompanied by the pianist Bill Evans.Their second album together, Together Again was released in 1977...
(1975, with Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
)
By others
- Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
– AffinityAffinity (Oscar Peterson album)Affinity is a 1962 studio album by the Oscar Peterson Trio. - Track listing :# "Waltz for Debby" – 5:53# "Tangerine" – 4:41# "Gravy Waltz" – 4:26...
(1962), Nigerian MarketplaceNigerian MarketplaceNigerian Marketplace is a 1981 live album by Oscar Peterson, accompanied by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, recorded at the 1981 Montreux Jazz Festival...
(1981), Freedom SongFreedom SongFreedom Song is a 1982 live album by Oscar Peterson, recorded in Japan.-Track listing:# "'Round Midnight" – 6:41...
(1982), The Lamp is Low (1994) - Johnny HartmanJohnny HartmanJohn Maurice Hartman was an American bass jazz singer who specialized in ballads and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and was briefly a member of...
– The Voice That Is!The Voice That Is!The Voice That Is! is an album by American jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(1964) - Earl KlughEarl KlughEarl Klugh is an American smooth jazz/crossover jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and composer.At the age of 13, Klugh was captivated by the guitar playing of Chet Atkins when Atkins made an appearance on the Perry Como Show. Klugh was a performing guest on several of Atkins' albums...
– Earl KlughEarl Klugh (album)Earl Klugh is the debut album of Earl Klugh released in 1976. It features Louis Johnson on bass and guest appearances of Lee Ritenour on electric guitar.-Track listing:#"Las Manos De Fuego" #"Could It be I'm Falling in Love"#"Angelina"...
(1976) - David MatthewsDavid Matthews (keyboardist)David Matthews is a keyboardist, pianist, and arranger, born in Sonora, Kentucky, United States.A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor's degree in composition, Matthews has composed television soundtracks as well as albums with the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra. He is the leader of...
– Waltz for Debby (1987) - Ralph TownerRalph TownerRalph Towner is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion and trumpet.-Biography:...
– Open LetterOpen Letter (Ralph Towner album)Open Letter is an album by guitarist Ralph Towner recorded in 1991 and 1992 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Rick Anderson awarded the album 3 stars stating "Ralph Towner's a difficult case. The snoozy noodlings of his former band Oregon can be downright stupefying,...
(1991) - John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
– Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans (1993) - The Real GroupThe Real GroupThe Real Group is a professional a cappella group from Sweden, consisting of five members: Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Morten Vinther Sørensen, and Anders Jalkéus....
– Live in Stockholm (1996) - Ilse HuizingaIlse HuizingaIlse Huizinga is a Dutch jazz singer. She performs throughout Europe.-History:Ilse Huizinga was born in Beverwijk, the Netherlands in October 1966 and grew up in Nijmegen. It was an old piano given to her family at the age of six, which first drew Huizinga to music...
– Voices WithinVoices Within-Track listing:# "Foolin' Myself" – 3:21# "Some Other Time" – 2:10# "I Should Care" – 6:10...
(1999) - Don SebeskyDon SebeskyDon Sebesky is an American jazz trombonist and arranger.-Biography:Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton...
– I Remember Bill: The Tribute to Bill Evans (1999) - Al JarreauAl JarreauAlwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
– Accentuate the Positive (2004) - Niño JoseleNiño JoseleNiño Josele is a Spanish guitarist, and exponent of the New Flamenco style.His first two albums show a vibrant, pure, modern flamenco style....
– Paz (2006) - RealtimeRealtime (quartet)Realtime is a barbershop quartet that won the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Quartet Championship in 2005. They finished seventh-place the previous year . Lead singer John Newell is the first Australian-born international champion...
- Ain't That A Kick (2006) - Gary BurtonGary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
and Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
– The New Crystal Silence (2008) - David Benoit - Standards (2006) and Heroes (2008)
External links
- "Waltz for Debby" at jazzstandards.com