List of compositions by Bill Evans
Appearance
This list contains the known compositions of Bill Evans. It is likely that some of his works have not survived or remain unpublished, for example, a piece titled "Very Little Suite", an assignment composed during his college years.
Name | Year of composition | Year of first recording | First recording | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
B Minor Waltz | 1977 | You Must Believe in Spring | For ex-girlfriend Ellaine, who committed suicide. | |
Bill's Belle | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
Bill's Hit Tune | 1979 | We Will Meet Again | ||
Blue in Green | 1959 | 1959 | Kind of Blue | Miles Davis claimed authorship, but many jazz historians maintain that it was Evans who composed it or at least co-wrote it. |
C Minor Blues Chase | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
Carnival | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
Catch the Wind | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
Children's Play Song | 1970 | From Left to Right | ||
Chromatic Tune | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
Comrade Conrad | 1971 | The Bill Evans Album | The tune originated as a Crest toothpaste jingle. It was later elaborated and dedicated to Conrad Mendenhall, a friend who had died in a car accident.[1] | |
Displacement | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | ||
Epilogue | 1959 | Everybody Digs Bill Evans | Short solo | |
Five | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | It was for some years the Bill Evans Trio signature tune. | |
For Nenette | 1978 | New Conversations | For Evans' wife. There is also a lyric version entitled "In April" | |
Fudgesickle Built for Two | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
Fun Ride | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
Funkallero | 1956 | Tenderly: An Informal Session | Recorded with Don Elliott and released posthumously in 2001 | |
Funny Man | 1967 | Further Conversations with Myself | ||
G Waltz | 1967 | California Here I Come | ||
Interplay | 1962 | Interplay | ||
It's Love – It's Christmas | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous, lyrics also by Bill Evans |
Knit for Mary F | 1980 | Letter to Evan | For fan Mary Franksen | |
Know What I Mean? | 1961 | Know What I Mean? | Piece for Cannonball Adderley's homonymous album | |
Laurie | 1979 | 1979 | We Will Meet Again | For girlfriend Laurie Verchomin |
Letter to Evan | 1979 | The Paris Concert: Edition Two | Written for his son Evan Evans, born in 1975 | |
Loose Bloose | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
Maxine | 1978 | New Conversations | For his stepdaughter, Nenette's daughter | |
My Bells | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
N.Y.C.'s No Lark | 1963 | 1963 | Conversations with Myself | Anagram of the name of pianist Sonny Clark, a personal friend who died in 1963 |
One For Helen | 1966 | Bill Evans at Town Hall | For manager Helen Keane | |
Only Child | ||||
Orbit | 1966 | A Simple Matter of Conviction | a.k.a. Unless It's You | |
Peace Piece | 1958 | Everybody Digs Bill Evans | Improvised solo, loosely based on Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time" | |
Peri's Scope | 1959 | Portrait in Jazz | For girlfriend Peri Cousins | |
Prologue | 1966 | Bill Evans at Town Hall | Prologue to the solo titled "In Memory of His Father Harry L." | |
Re: Person I Knew | 1962 | Moon Beams | Anagram of the name of his friend producer Orrin Keepnews | |
Remembering the Rain | 1978 | New Conversations | ||
Show Type Tune | 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | ||
A Simple Matter of Conviction | 1966 | A Simple Matter of Conviction | ||
Since We Met | 1974 | Since We Met | ||
34 Skidoo | 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | ||
Song for Helen | 1978 | New Conversations | For manager Helen Keane | |
Song No.1 | ||||
Story Line | 1966 | Bill Evans at Town Hall | Part of the solo titled "In Memory of His Father Harry L." | |
Sugar Plum | ||||
The Opener | ||||
Theme (What You Gave) | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
There Came You | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
These Things Called Changes | 1966 | A Simple Matter of Conviction | ||
Tiffany | 1980 | Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings |
For Joe LaBarbera's daughter | |
Time Out for Chris | ||||
Time Remembered | 1962 | Loose Blues | Released in 1982 | |
Turn Out the Stars | 1966 | Bill Evans at Town Hall | First appeared in "In Memory of His Father Harry L.", an extended solo featuring other pieces | |
T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune) | 1971 | The Bill Evans Album | Based on a tone row | |
T.T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune Two) | 1973 | The Tokyo Concert | Based on a tone row | |
The Two Lonely People | 1971 | The Bill Evans Album | Lyrics by Carol Hall for the performance of the song by Tony Bennett | |
Very Early | 1949 (appr.) | 1962 | Moon Beams | Evan's first known tune |
Walkin' Up | 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | ||
Waltz for Debby | 1953 (appr.) | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | Written for his then recently born niece |
Waltz in E♭ | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
We Will Meet Again | 1977 | You Must Believe in Spring | For his brother Harry. | |
Yet Ne'er Broken | An anagram of the name of cocaine dealer Robert Kenney | |||
Your Story | 1980 | Letter to Evan |
References
- ^ Pettinger 2002, p. 205.
Sources
- Pettinger, Peter (2002) [1999]. Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings (new ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09727-1.
Further reading
- Wetzel, Pascal (1996). Bill Evans Fake Book. Ludlow Music.