''New Jazz Conceptions'' is the debut album by jazz musician Bill Evans, released in 1957 on

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riverside ...

History

Producer

Orrin Keepnews Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels. Biography Early life Keepnews ...

first determined to record Evans after hearing a tape of his playing. Eleven songs were recorded in the first session, including Evans' own " Waltz for Debby", which would prove to be his most recognized and recorded composition.Joel Simpson
"Bill Evans: 1929-1980"
''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', August 27, 2004. ''New Jazz Conceptions'' was reissued in 2006 with a bonus track.

Reception

Although a critical success that gained positive reviews in ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' and ''

Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

'' magazines, ''New Jazz Conceptions'' was initially a financial failure, selling only 800 copies the first year. Writing for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, music critic Scott Yanow said about 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

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 You" ( Cole Porter) – 3:55 #"Five" ( Bill Evans) – 4:03 #"

I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941. It was introduced in the musical revue ''Jump for Joy'' by Ivie Anderson, who also provided the v ...

" ( Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster) – 1:39 #"Conception" (

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

) – 4:47 #" Easy Living" (

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...

) – 3:53 #"Displacement" (Evans) – 2:36 #"

Speak Low "Speak Low" (1943) is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. Background It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical '' One Touch of Venus'' (1943). The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo ...

" ( Kurt Weill,

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's bes ...

) – 5:10 #" Waltz for Debby" (Evans,

Gene Lees Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music ...

) – 1:20 #"

Our Delight "Our Delight" is a 1946 jazz standard, composed by Tadd Dameron. It is considered one of his best compositions along with " Good Bait", " Hot House", " If You Could See Me Now", and " Lady Bird". It has an AABA construction. A moderately fast beb ...

" (

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swin ...

) – 4:47 #" My Romance" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:01 #"No Cover, No Minimum"

ake 1 Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The name ...

(Evans) – 8:14 Not part of original LP #"No Cover, No Minimum" – 7:31

Personnel

* Bill Evans -

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

Teddy Kotick Teddy Kotick (born Theodore John Kotick; June 4, 1928 – April 17, 1986) was an American jazz bassist, who appeared as a sideman with many of the leading figures of the 1940s and 1950s, including Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Horace Sil ...

- Bass *

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

- Drums

Production

- Producer * Bill Grauer - Producer * Jack Higgins - Engineer * Tamaki Beck - Mastering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jazz Conceptions 1957 debut albums Bill Evans albums Riverside Records albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews