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 It is likely that some of his works have not survived or remain unpublished, for example, a piece titled "Very Little Suite", an assignment composed during his college years.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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Are You All the Things | 1974 | Intuition | A contrafact based on Jerome Kern's classic "All the Things You Are," which rearranges the words of its title | |
| 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 Evans, Earl Zindars, and many jazz historians have maintained 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. | |
| Displacement | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | ||
| Epilogue | 1959 | Everybody Digs Bill Evans | Short solo | |
| Evanesque | 1980 (unfinished) | Completed and first recorded by Eliane Elias on her tribute album Something for You (2008) | ||
| Five | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | Like many jazz tunes, it's based on the chords of "I Got Rhythm." 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 titled "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 | ||
| Here Is Something for You | 1980 (unfinished) | From a private cassette recording; completed and recorded with added lyrics by Eliane Elias on her tribute album Something for You (2008) | ||
| 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; first appeared on Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra in 1966 | |
| 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 | Dedicated to and titled by his wife Nanette | |
| 34 Skidoo | 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | ||
| Song for Helen | 1978 | New Conversations | For manager Helen Keane | |
| Song No.1 | First recorded by Chick Corea in 2010 | |||
| 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; first appeared on Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra in 1966 | |
| 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; lyrics by Gene Lees | |
| 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 | Evans's first-known tune composed when he was an undergraduate |
| Walkin' Up | 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | ||
| Waltz for Debby | 1953 (appr.) | 1956 | New Jazz Conceptions | Written for his then recently born niece; lyrics later added by Gene Lees |
| Waltz in E♭ | 1965–67 (appr.) | – | – | Posthumous |
| We Will Meet Again | 1977 | You Must Believe in Spring | For his brother Harry; lyrics by Bill Evans (heard in recordings by others such as Tierney Sutton) | |
| 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) . 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.