"Soul Eyes" is a composition, with lyrics, written by

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

.Ratliff, Ben (December 6, 2002
"Mal Waldron, 77, Composer of the Jazz Ballad 'Soul Eyes'"
''The New York Times''. It is a 32-bar ballad that takes the song form ABAC, and is written in 4/4 time. It was first recorded on March 22, 1957, for the album ''

Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors ''Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors'' is a jazz album released in November 1957 by Prestige Records. It is credited to Idrees Sulieman, Webster Young, John Coltrane and Bobby Jaspar, with Mal Waldron, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers and Art Ta ...

''.Gioia, Ted (2012) ''The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire''. Oxford University Press. pp. 388–390. One of the tenor saxophonists on that recording was

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

, who brought the song back to attention by recording it in 1962 for his album '' Coltrane'', when he had become more famous. This was only the second ever recording of the song, which has since become "part of the basic repertory of jazz performers" – a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

. Waldron wrote the piece with Coltrane in mind: "I liked Coltrane's sound and I thought the melody would fit it". Since these early versions, the song has been recorded hundreds of times. A vocal version is on

Vanessa Rubin Vanessa Rubin (born March 14, 1957) is an American jazz vocalist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents from Trinidad and Louisiana, Rubin grew up in a musical household. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Ohio S ...

's debut album in 1992; another comparatively rare vocal version, featuring

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunter ...

, is available on Waldron's 1997 album entitled ''Soul Eyes''. In 2016 it became the title track of

Kandace Springs Kandace Springs (born January 17, 1989) is an American jazz and soul singer and pianist. She has released four studio albums. Biography Kandace Springs was born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1989. Her father Scat Springs was a sess ...

' debut album.

References

{{Authority control 1950s jazz standards 1957 songs Compositions by Mal Waldron