Waltz For Debby Arrangement & Recordings

Records & Albums Jazz Recordings
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Hi all,

Tuomo has created us a fantastic tutorial on “Waltz For Debby” by Bill Evans.

The full lesson and arrangement can be found here:

With each new jazz standard lesson, I think it would be nice to post the notable recording of the tune in a dedicated thread here in the forum. Remember that listening to jazz every day is an essential part of our development as jazz musicians.

Here are the recordings that Tuomo recommends we listen to:

Waltz for Debby - Bill Evans Solo Piano (1956)

A solo piano performance by the maestro… as it originally appeared on the album “New Jazz Conceptions”

Waltz For Debby - Bill Evans Trio (1961)

Personnel:

Bill Evans (Piano)
Scott LaFaro (Bass)
Paul Motian (Drums)

Waltz For Debby - Bill Evans & Cannonball Adderly (1961)

Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans Trio - Waltz for Debby (1961)

Personnel:

Cannonball Adderley (alto sax)
Bill Evans (piano)
Percy Heath (bass)
Connie Kay (drums)

Waltz For Debby - Bill Evans & Tony Bennet

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby 1975 HQ from the album The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album.

Waltz For Debby - Bill Evans & Monica Zetterlund

Personnel:

Monica Zetterlund (Voice)
Bill Evans (Piano)
Chuck Isreals (Bass)
Larry Bunker (Drums)

Spend a day or more to just listen to these recordings. Then have a go with the lesson. You should find a deeper connection with the chords, the form, the melody, and the lyrics.

Enjoy!

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Thank you !!! Always wanted to learn this.

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Great tune!!! Many thanks for listing this.

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Brilliant… enjoy the arrangement!

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Incredible, just incredible how Bill voices these chords, lots of “simple inversions”, so much to learn…

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So glad to have found this thread Yay.

Been learning this recently and though am not a fan of Waltz - certainly the first Waltz piece that has become my favourite ! Feels like taking me forever to learn haha but being very patient with myself :grin: Thanks so much for the amazing lessons! :heart:

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keep pushing ahead Kristeta…I know myself, what seems hard at first, if you keep chipping away each day…you will be surprised in a few months how far you have come…it takes time. I experienced the same with the song “You must believe in Spring”.

Cheers

Paul

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Great tutorial for what Marian McPartland described as the tune that Bill Evans is best known for. Another solo version of the tune opens Evans’ appearance on Piano Jazz in the late 1970s, not long before his death.

Interesting to compare that version with the one he played 20 years earlier; they’re very similar but different in intriguing ways:

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Yay Thanks @Paul - that is very true - Thanks for the encouragement! :blush:
hah… would like to listen now to You Must Believe in Spring - I have so many jazz songs that I don’t know at all and have only heard first time and learned about here in PianoGroove!!! :heart: Hope you and your family are well! Take care

@gregb
WoW - Thanks so much for sharing this! :heart:
I LOVE it :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: