New Jazz Conceptions
Encyclopedia
New Jazz Conceptions is the debut album as leader by jazz musician Bill Evans
, released in 1956 on Riverside Records
.
of Riverside Records
first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of Evans' playing. Eleven songs were recorded in the first session, including Evans' own "Waltz for Debby" which would prove to be his most recognized and covered
composition.
New Jazz Conceptions was reissued in 2006 with a bonus track.
and Metronome
magazines, New Jazz Conceptions was initially a financial failure, selling only 800 copies the first year.
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Scott Yanow
called the album "Bill Evans' debut as a leader found the 27-year-old pianist already sounding much different than the usual Bud Powell-influenced keyboardists of the time... A strong start to a rather significant career." David Rickert of All About Jazz
also noted the influence of Bud Powell and wrote "Even at this stage he had the chops to make this a good piano jazz album, but in the end it's not a very good Bill Evans album... There are glimpses of the later trademarks of Evans' style..."
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...
, released in 1956 on Riverside Records
Riverside Records
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
.
History
Producer Orrin KeepnewsOrrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
of Riverside Records
Riverside Records
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of Evans' playing. Eleven songs were recorded in the first session, including Evans' own "Waltz for Debby" which would prove to be his most recognized and covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
composition.
New Jazz Conceptions was reissued in 2006 with a bonus track.
Reception
Although a critical success that gained positive reviews in Down BeatDown Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
and Metronome
Metronome magazine
Metronome Magazine was a music-guide magazine published from the 1881 until 1961.The magazine in its early years catered for musicians in marching and then dance bands, but from the swing era, Metronome focused primarily on the genre of Jazz music appealing to fans...
magazines, New Jazz Conceptions was initially a financial failure, selling only 800 copies the first year.
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
called the album "Bill Evans' debut as a leader found the 27-year-old pianist already sounding much different than the usual Bud Powell-influenced keyboardists of the time... A strong start to a rather significant career." David Rickert of All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
also noted the influence of Bud Powell and wrote "Even at this stage he had the chops to make this a good piano jazz album, but in the end it's not a very good Bill Evans album... There are glimpses of the later trademarks of Evans' style..."
Track listing
- "I Love YouI Love You (Cole Porter song)"I Love You" is a song written by Cole Porter in 1944 for his stage musical Mexican Hayride. It was popularized by Bing Crosby in the same year...
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) – 3:55 - "Five" (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...
) – 4:03 - "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"I Got It Bad " is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941...
" (Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
) – 1:39 - "Conception" (George ShearingGeorge ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
) – 4:47 - "Easy Living" (Leo RobinLeo RobinLeo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
, Ralph RaingerRalph RaingerRalph Rainger was an American composer of popular music principally for films.-Biography:Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, Rainger embarked on a legal career before escaping to Broadway where he became Clifton Webb's accompanist...
) – 3:53 - "Displacement" (Evans) – 2:36
- "Speak LowSpeak Low"Speak Low" is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical One Touch of Venus . The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo and his orchestra, with vocal by Billy Leach...
" (Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Ogden NashOgden NashFrederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
) – 5:10 - "Waltz for DebbyWaltz for Debby (song)"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...
" (Evans, Gene LeesGene LeesFrederick 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...
) – 1:20 - "Our Delight" (Tadd DameronTadd DameronTadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
) – 4:47 - "My RomanceMy Romance (song)"My Romance" is a popular song, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, written for Billy Rose's musical, Jumbo . In the 1962 movie version of Jumbo, Doris Day performed the song....
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
) – 2:01 - "No Cover, No Minimum" [Take 1] (Evans) – 8:14 Not part of original LP
- "No Cover, No Minimum" – 7:31
Production
- Orrin KeepnewsOrrin KeepnewsOrrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
- Producer - Bill Grauer - Producer
- Jack Higgins - Engineer
- Tamaki Beck - Mastering