Walter Gross, music · Jack Lawrence, lyrics · First recorded by Dick Farney in 1947
Tenderly is a song from 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Gross wrote it as a waltz, and jazz players later moved it to four beats per . Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and Bill Evans all recorded it.
The path starts with Sarah Vaughan's 1947 record and two more vocals from Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday. It then moves through a Ben Webster ballad, a guitar and tenor saxophone quintet, a Dexter Gordon quartet, a trumpet quartet from Paris and a Bill Evans piano trio. Each step plays the same changes in a new setting.
8 recordings, 1947 to 1958 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗
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Sarah Vaughan · 1947 · Vocal
Tenderly / Don't Blame Me
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Play the first four of the slowly, one per bar: , , , A♭7. Then hum the melody over them.
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Nat King Cole · 1953 · Easy listening, Vocal
Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love
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Play the first four of the , one per bar: , , Fm7♭5, then B♭7 with in the fourth bar.
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Billie Holiday · 1952 · Vocal, Swing
An Evening with Billie Holiday
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Play 5 to 8 of the , one per bar: , , , then with in the last bar.
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Ben Webster · 1953 · Swing
King of the Tenors
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Play the last four of the , one each: with , with , , then Fm7 with B♭7 as the .
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Johnny Smith Quintet (with Stan Getz) · 1952
Johnny Smith Quintet
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Play the eight of the , one per bar: , , Fm7♭5, B♭7 with , , , , B♭7.
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Dexter Gordon Quintet · 1955 · Bebop
Dexter Blows Hot and Cool
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Play one , one per , with a bass note on beat one of each chord: , , , A♭7, , , E♭maj7, then with .
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Chet Baker Quartet · 1955 · Bebop, Cool jazz
Chet Baker Quartet
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Play only the root of each , one per , over an : E♭, A♭, E♭, A♭, F, D♭, E♭, then G and C in the last bar. Then add a few notes of your own over those roots, as Baker does.
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Bill Evans Trio · 1958 · Post-bop
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
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Play the first four of the on piano: , then with , then , then with . The C section replaces the last in this form.
2 more, from 1953 to 1956. Tap a cover to play it here.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
The tune has four sections that run A, B, A and C, and the iReal Pro chart keeps all 32 bars in . Each starts , , , A♭7, then , , E♭maj7 and a last bar of with . The begins , , Fm7♭5, then B♭7 with , and continues , , Fm7, B♭7. The last section, C, runs Fm7♭5, B♭7 with B°7, Cm7, F7 with , with , Fm7 with B♭7, , and a closing Fm7 with B♭7 that turns back to the top. The and the diminished passing do not leave E♭ major. These chords follow the iReal Pro chart.
Chart from iReal Pro's Jazz 1460 playlist, contributed by its users.