“Someday My Prince Will Come” was written by Frank Churchill with lyrics by Larry Morey for Disney’s 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It became a jazz standard after Dave Brubeck recorded it in 1957 and Miles Davis made it the title track of his 1961 album, featuring John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.
The tune is a jazz waltz in 3/4, usually in Bb major. It opens with Bbmaj7, then D7 with a raised fifth, then Ebmaj7, and G7, a sequence that gives the tune its dreamy, floating quality. From there it moves through ii-V progressions back to Bb, with a classic turnaround. The form is 32 bars in ABAC shape, which goes by quickly in 3/4 time, so it’s important to feel the long phrases.
For improvisation, think about the D7#5 chord: it’s a III7 that leads to Ebmaj7, so play F# and A# to bring out its color. Over the rest of the tune, Bb major and its ii-Vs will guide you. In 3/4, try phrases that span two or four bars and cross the bar line, avoiding a choppy, measure-by-measure feel. Miles’s version shows a cool, lyrical approach, while Coltrane’s solo shows how to build intensity in a waltz.
Practice the waltz feel with a metronome on beat one, then on beats two and three, to strengthen your internal pulse. Pianists should practice jazz waltz comping that avoids a heavy “oom-pah-pah.” Learn the melody by singing it; it’s very lyrical.
Common mistake: treating each bar as a separate unit. In a jazz waltz, the phrases are long, so think in four-bar groups and let your lines flow across the bar lines.
Recordings to study: Dave Brubeck’s 1957 version, Miles Davis’s 1961 title track and Bill Evans’s trio performances. Learn more about the composer on Frank Churchill’s Wikipedia page, and find more jazz waltzes on Minedit.