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Waltz for Debby (song)

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"Waltz for Debby"
Song by Bill Evans
from the album New Jazz Conceptions
Released1956 (1956)
GenreJazz
Length1:20
Composer(s)Bill Evans
Lyricist(s)Gene Lees

"Waltz for Debby" is a jazz standard composed by pianist Bill Evans, which became "his most famous tune."[1] He first recorded it as a brief solo piano piece on his debut album, New Jazz Conceptions (1956). "Debby" in the composition's title refers to Evans's then 3-year-old niece, Debby Evans, whom he often took to the beach.[1]

The "definitive performance" of the piece is usually considered to be the live recording from the third set on 25 June 1961 at the Village Vanguard by the classic Bill Evans Trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian.[2] (It was also recorded as part of the second set, and that less famous version, take 1, has been made available on various releases as a bonus track.)

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Beginning of Waltz for Debby[3]

In October 1963, Swedish poet Beppe Wolgers gave the song Swedish lyrics for jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, who in November 1963 released the song under the title "Monicas vals" on her EP Visa från Utanmyra.[4] During a tour of Sweden with his trio in 1964, Evans heard the EP and was so impressed by Zetterlund's treatment of his waltz that a recording session was set up in Stockholm at the end of the tour in August 1964, in which his trio, then including Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums, accompanied her when she performed that version[5] for the album Waltz for Debby: Monica Zetterlund, Bill Evans, which was released in December 1964 and contained nine additional English and Swedish songs.[6]

In September 1964, a month after Evans's recording in Sweden, Evans's friend Gene Lees gave the waltz English lyrics[7] for Tony Bennett's album Who Can I Turn To, released in November 1964.[8] In June 1975, Evans eventually accompanied Bennett when he sang the English version (the only time Evans made a recording with the Gene Lees lyrics) for The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, which was released in July 1975.

Including many posthumous releases, several dozen recordings of the waltz by Evans are now in circulation. His final recording of it dates from 7 September 1980, live at the Keystone Korner, just eight days before he died.[9]

The waltz has been widely covered and recorded more than 300 times.[10] Ted Gioia notes that in about 20% of cover versions, "Debby" is misspelled as "Debbie."[2] "Waltz for Debby" is known in Finnish by the name "Ankin Valssi," with lyrics written by Jukka Kuoppamäki.[11]

Evans had a particular fondness for the waltz form: Of his 50+ original compositions, at least 10 are waltzes, including "Very Early" (1949), "G Waltz" (1967), "B Minor Waltz" (1977), and "We Will Meet Again" (1977),[12] and he frequently performed waltzes by others, such as Earl Zindars's "Elsa" and Gary McFarland's "Gary's Theme."[13]

Personnel

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On New Jazz Conceptions (1956):

On Waltz for Debby (1961):

Renditions

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Some Notable Recordings by Evans

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Some Notable Recordings by Others

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Awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Pettinger, Peter, Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings, Yale University Press (1998), p. 24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 444–446. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  3. ^ Evans, Bill; Lees, Gene (2006). "Waltz for Debby". The Real Book. C Instruments. Vol. 1 (6 ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-634-06038-0.
  4. ^ "Monicas vals by Monica Zetterlund" https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/373986 SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed 2025-04-27.
  5. ^ "Monicas vals by Monica Zetterlund - Bill Evans" https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/329973 SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed 2025-04-27.
  6. ^ "Waltz for Debby by Monica Zetterlund - Bill Evans" https://secondhandsongs.com/release/111652 SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed 2025-04-27.
  7. ^ Alexander, Charles; Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. p. 249. ISBN 1-84353-256-5.
  8. ^ "Waltz for Debby, 66th in 1964" https://secondhandsongs.com/work/96571/all SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed 2025-04-27.
  9. ^ "Bill Evans Discography," https://www.jazzdisco.org/bill-evans/discography/, JAZZDISCO.org, Accessed 28 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Waltz for Debby," https://secondhandsongs.com/work/51835/versions#nav-entity, SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed 28 May 2024.
  11. ^ Sakta vi gå genom stan – Det bästa at AllMusic - retrieved on 26 May 2009
  12. ^ Murray, J. Williams, "Billy's Touch: An Analysis of the Compositions of Bill Evans, Billy Strayhorn, and Bill Murray" (March 2011), https://www.towson.edu/cofac/departments/music/programs/gradperformance/documents/recitalresearchpapermurray.pdf, p. 22, Accessed 28 May 2024.
  13. ^ Pettinger, pp. 104 & 245.
  14. ^ "www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  15. ^ Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed August 10, 2021
  16. ^ "Standards overview". Allmusic.com.
  17. ^ "Heroes overview". Allmusic.com.
  18. ^ "Heroes : David Benoit : Concord Music Group". Concord Music Group.
  19. ^ "This Heart of Mine overview". Allmusic.com.
  20. ^ Don Sebesky awards at Allmusic - retrieved on 26 May 2009
  21. ^ 51st Grammy Awards winners Archived October 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at grammy.com - retrieved on 26 May 2009
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