Table of Contents:
What is a Jazz Standard?
A jazz standard is a musical theme that has acquired a certain notoriety in the jazz genre, which is known by many musicians and which has been the subject of numerous versions, interpretations and improvisations, and which is frequently used in jam sessions and performances.
There are standards from all eras of jazz, such as ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’, ‘I Got Rhythm’ or ‘How High the Moon’, ‘Take the ‘A’ Train’ to cite examples of the hot, swing and bop.
Many of the best-known standards were composed for films, or come from the so-called Great American Songbook, and have been incorporated into the genre, such as, for example, ‘Summertime’, by George Gershwin, while, for example, ”Round Midnight’, by Thelonious Monk, has been covered by, among others, Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, and Miles Davis.
Best Sheet Music download from our Library.
![jazz scores free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti What is a Jazz Standard?](https://smlpdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/150-Of-The-Best-Jazz-Standards-Ever-sheet-music-218x300.jpg)
The most recorded standard composed by a jazz musician, and one of the most covered songs of all time, is Duke Ellington’s and Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” with over 500 uses.
Originally, the most recorded jazz standard was W. C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” for over 20 years from the 1930s onward, after which Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” replaced it. Following this, the place was held by “Body and Soul” by Johnny Green.
Please, subscribe to our Library. Thank you!
Before 1920
At the beginning of the 20th century, jazz was still considered dance music. The first Dixieland groups remained influenced by this image: King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and many other groups included Tin Pan Alley in their repertoires, and record companies sometimes dictated the list of titles that must be recorded by their artists.
Certain imposed songs have thus become standards, such as Darktown Strutters’ Ball or (Back Home Again in) Indiana, recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band at Columbia Records in 1917.
Also, among the standards of this era are the songs After You’ve Gone (Turner Layton and Henry Creamer, 1918) and Some of These Days (Sophie Tucker, 1910).
The 1920s
The Jazz Age began in the United States in the 1920s. Jazz became popular there, even though the older generation considered this music immoral and endangering their cultural values.
The first artist who allowed himself to freely choose his titles was Louis Armstrong, who popularized many standards during the years 1920 to 19301. The popular tunes of the 1920s were songs like Sweet Georgia Brown, Dinah or Bye Bye Blackbird.
Some compositions from this era written by jazz musicians have become standards such as Honeysuckle Rose (1928) and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1929) by Fats Waller. The song Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish is the most recorded jazz standard of the 1920s. Others are written by Broadway composers such as The Man I Love by George and Ira Gershwin (1924), Blue Skies by Irving Berlin (1927), or What Is This Thing Called Love? by Cole Porter (1927).
However, it was not until the 1930s that jazz musicians became comfortable with the complex melodies and sophisticated harmonic grids of Broadway tunes, and used them regularly in their repertoires.
The 1930s
Broadway contributed some of the most popular standards of the 1930s, including the famous Summertime from the comedy Porgy and Bess by George and Ira Gershwin (1935), My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (1937), All the Things You Are by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II (1939), and Body and Soul by Johnny Green (1930). These standards are among the most recorded.
The 1930s saw swing establish itself in American music. Duke Ellington and his musicians composed many themes which would become jazz standards: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) (1932), Sophisticated Lady (1933), Caravan (1936) among the most famous.
![sheet music free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras jazz standard](https://smlpdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Legends-Of-Jazz-Guitar-Vol-Three-Biographies-of-Jim-Hall-Tal-ino-Herb-Ellis-Charlie-Byrd-Barnie-Kessel-Book-232x300.jpg)
The swing era (1935–1946) is that of the greatest big bands, such as those of Benny Goodman and Count Basie, who also participated in the repertoire of jazz standards.
The 1940s
New themes became popular, such as Cotton Tail by Duke Ellington (1940) or Take the ‘A’ Train by Billy Strayhorn (1941). The Second World War was a difficult time for big bands, and small groups developed.
The arrival of bebop brought out a new audience sensitive to sophisticated harmonies, fast tempos, and the virtuosity of the musicians. Their repertoires largely use the standards of the 1930s, but their compositions will also enter the list of standards: Salt Peanuts (1941) and A Night in Tunisia (1942) by Dizzy Gillespie, Anthropology (1946), Yardbird Suite (en) ( 1946), Scrapple from the Apple (1947) by Charlie Parker, or ‘Round Midnight (1944) by Thelonious Monk.
The 1950s and beyond
Some modal jazz recordings became popular in the late 1950s, such as the albums Kind of Blue by Miles Davis in 1959 with the compositions All Blues and So What, Impressions (en) by John Coltrane in 1963, or Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock in 1965.
In the mid-1960s, Miles Davis’ second major quintet with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock recorded a series of albums which contained standards such as Footprints (Wayne Shorter, 1966) and Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris, 1966).
At the end of the 1950s, bossa nova appeared in Brazil, a mixture of samba and jazz, made popular by João Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá. Gilberto and Stan Getz launched this trend in the United States in 1964 with the famous Getz/Gilberto album. Among the standards of the genre are compositions by Bonfá (Manhã de Carnaval, 1959), Marcos Valle (Summer Samba, 1966), and numerous songs by Jobim such as Desafinado (1959), The Girl from Ipanema (1962), Corcovado (1962).
In the mid-1970s, jazz fusion appeared, which was a mixture of jazz, funk and rock. Joe Zawinul with Weather Report, Chick Corea with Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock with The Headhunters, or John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra considerably broaden the jazz audience, and some of their successes have become standards: Spain (en) by Chick Corea (1971), Chameleon by Hancock (1973), and Birdland by Joe Zawinul (1977).
![Jazz standards sheet music free scores Jazz standards](https://smlpdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-Hal-Leonard-Real-Jazz-Book-Over-500-Songs-242x300.jpg)
Jazz standards
Musical compositions that have become jazz standards.
Irving Berlin – Alexander’s Ragtime Band [1911]
“Alexander’s Ragtime Band” is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911 and is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Although not a traditional ragtime song, Berlin’s jaunty melody nonetheless “sold a million copies of sheet music in 1911, then another million in 1912, and continued to sell for years afterward.
It was the number one song from October 1911 through January 1912.” The song might be regarded as a narrative sequel to “Alexander and His Clarinet”, which Berlin wrote with Ted Snyder in 1910. The earlier song is mostly concerned with a reconciliation between an African-American musician named Alexander Adams and his flame Eliza Johnson, but also highlights Alexander’s innovative musical style.
Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” was introduced to the American public by vaudeville comedienne Emma Carus, “one of the great stars of the period.” A popular singer in the 1907 Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway features, Carus was a famous contralto of the vaudeville era, renowned for her “low bass notes and high lung power.”
Carus’ brassy performance of the song at the American Music Hall in Chicago on April 18, 1911, proved to be well-received, and she toured other metropolises such as Detroit and New York City with acclaimed performances that featured the catchy song. The song as comically recorded by American singing duo Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan became the number one hit of 1911.
Nearly two decades later, jazz singer Bessie Smith recorded a 1927 cover, which became one of the hit songs of that year. The song’s popularity re-surged in the 1930s with the release of a 1934 close harmony cover by the Boswell Sisters, and a 1938 musical film of the same name starring Tyrone Power and Alice Faye. The song was covered by a variety of artists such as Al Jolson, Billy Murray, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and others. Within fifty years of its release, the song had at least a dozen hit covers.
Etta James – Stormy Weather
From the album is At Last.
Search in our Library by author, or song name.
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
Agnes Obel Just So |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel Mary |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel Riverside |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel September Song |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel Smoke And Mirrors |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel The Curse |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel Tokka |
![]() |
|
Agnes Obel Words Are Dead |
![]() |
|
Aguas De Março Jazz Piano Score Jobim |
![]() |
|
Aha – Take On Me |
![]() |
|
Ahead On Our Way Ff Vii (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Ahmad Jamal Poinciana Full score (Song of the Tree) | Ahmad Jamal Poinciana Full score (Song of the Tree) | |
Ahmad Jamal The Ahmad Jamal Collection (Artist Transcriptions) |
![]() ![]() |
Ahmad Jamal The Ahmad Jamal Collection Artist Piano Transcriptions contents Ahmad’s Blues, But Not For Me, The Canteen, For My Daughter, My Flower, New Rhumba, Night Mist Blues, Poinciana (Song Of The Tree), Sumayah, The Surrey With The Fringe On Top |
Ahmad Jamal Wave from the album The Awakening |
![]() |
|
Ai Mei – Rainie Yang | ||
Aimee Mann – Wise Up | ||
Ain’t Misbehavin’ Fats Waller As Played By Joe Pass (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Ainsi soit je (Mylène Farmer) | ||
Air on the G string, from BWV 1068 (10 string, Yepes tuning).mscz | ||
Air Supply Greatest Hits |
![]() |
AIR SUPPLY GREATEST |
Airegin by Soony Rollins – Jazz Play Along with sheet music |
![]() |
Airegin |
Akira Ifukube – Sonata for Violin and Piano I – Allegro |
![]() |
|
Akira Ifukube End Titles Godzilla Vs Destoroyah |
![]() |
|
Akira Ifukube Mesa March Godzilla |
![]() |
|
Akira Yamaoka Silent Hill 2 Promise (Reprise) |
![]() |
|
Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill Room Of Angel (Piano) | Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill Room Of Angel (Piano) | |
Aknin, Laurent Le Choix Du Coeur Easy Piano Solo (du film The Student and Mister Henri (L’Étudiante et Monsieur Henri) | Aknin-Laurent-Le-Choix-Du-Coeur-Easy-Piano-Solo | |
Al Di Meola – Guitar Technique SongBook with Tablature |
![]() |
Al Di Meola – Guitar technique SongBook |
Al Di Meola A Guide To Guitar Chords Scales And Arpeggios Master Classes With Bob Aslanian |
![]() |
Al Di Meola A Guide To Guitar Chords Scales And Arpeggios Master Classes With Bob Aslanian |
Al Di Meola Collection |
![]() |
al di meola collection songbook |
Al Di Meola Enigma Of Desire (Guitar) |
![]() |
|
Al Di Meola Guitar School Elegant Gypsy Songbook with Tablature |
![]() |
Al Di Meola Guitar School Elegant Gypsy Songbook |
Al Di Meola Guitar Tabs Songbook Electric Rendezvous |
![]() |
Al Di Meola Guitar Tabs Songbook Electric Rendezvous |
Al Di Meola Solace (Guitar) | Al Di Meola Solace (Guitar) | |
Al Di Meola Solos (Guitar) with Tablature |
![]() |
al di meola solos |
Al Di Meola When Youre Gone | Al Di Meola When Youre Gone | |
Al Green – Let´s Stay Together Melody And Guitar Chords |
![]() |
|
Al Jarreau – Breakin’ Away |
![]() |
|
Al Jarreau The Best Of Al Jarreau Piano Vocal Guitar chords |
![]() |
Al Jarreau The Best Of Book |
Al Stewart – Time Passages |
![]() |
|
Al Stewart – Year Of The Cat |
![]() |
|
Al Stewart Greatest Songs Of Book |
![]() |
AL STEWART SONGBOOK |
Aladdin – A Whole New World – Alan Menken | Aladdin – A Whole New World – Alan Menken | |
Aladdin – Arabian Nights (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Aladdin – Broadway Musical Songbook – Alan Menken |
![]() |
Aladdin – Broadway Musical Songbook – Alan Menken |
Alain Barriere – Les Guinguettes |
![]() |
|
Alain Barrière – Emporte Moi (Y Volveré) |
![]() |
|
Alain Barriere – Tu T’en Vas |
![]() |
|
Alain Chamfort Songbook Book |
![]() |
ALAIN CHAMFORT SONGBOOK |
Alan Belkin – Una Guía Práctica de Composición Musical (Spanish) | Book Theory | |
Alan Jackson – Between the Devil and Me |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – Buicks to the Moon |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – I’ll Go On Loving You |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – It’s Five Oclock Somewhere |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – Little Bitty |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – Once In A Lifetime Love |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – Remember When |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – That’d Be Alright |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – There Goes |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson – Where I Come From |
![]() |
|
Alan Jackson Remember When Piano Solo |
![]() |
|
Alan Lomax – The Penguin Book Of American Folk Songs (GUITAR) |
![]() |
Alan Lomax – The Penguin Book Of American Folk Songs GUITAR) |
Alan Menken – A Christmas Carol A Place Called Home |
![]() |
|
Alan Menken – Beauty and the Beast (easy piano) Complete score arr. piano & guitar chords |
![]() |
Alan Menken – Beauty and the Beast (easy piano) |
Alan Menken – Little Shop Of Horrors |
![]() |
Alan Menken – Little Shop Of Horrors |
Alan Menken – Songbook |
![]() |
Alan Menken songbook sheet music |
Alan Menken – Tangled (Disney) Rapunzel songbook |
![]() |
Tangled |
Alan Menken A Christmas Carol (The Musical) |
![]() |
|
Alan Menken Aladdin (songbook) |
![]() |
Alan Menken Aladdin |
Alan Menken I see the light (Tangled-Disney) | Alan Menken I see the light (Tangled-Disney) | |
Alan Menken My Christmas Tree from Home Alone 2 Lost In New York |
![]() |
|
Alan Menken The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Disney) |
![]() |
Alan Menken The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Disney) |
Alan Menken The Little Mermaid Piano Vocal Score (The Musical) | Alan Menken The Little Mermaid Piano Vocal Score (The Musical) | |
Alan Parsons – Eye in the Sky |
![]() |
|
Alan Parsons Project – Don’t Answer Me |
![]() |
|
Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky |
![]() |
|
Alan Parsons Project – Time |
![]() |
|
Alan Parsons Project – Eve (Piano, Vocal, Guitar) Songbook |
![]() |
Alan Parsons Project – Eve (Piano, Vocal, Guitar) Songbook |
Alan Parsons Project – Eye In the Sky (Piano, Vocal, Guitar Songbook) |
![]() |
Alan Parsons Project – Eye In the Sky (Piano, Vocal, Guitar Songbook) |
Alan Parsons Project – I Robot (Piano, Vocal, Guitar) Songbook |
![]() |
Alan Parsons Project – I Robot (Piano, Vocal, Guitar) Songbook |
Alan Parsons Project – The Essential |
![]() |
Alan Parsons Project |
Alan Parsons Project Gaudí Piano Vocal Guitar chords |
![]() |
Alan Parsons Project Gaudí Piano Vocal Guitar chords |
Alan Silvestri – Avengers Infinity War Medley – Piano Solo | Alan Silvestri – Avengers Infinity War Medley – Piano Solo | |
Alan Silvestri – Contact Main Theme | ||
Alan Silvestri The Avengers |
![]() |
Alan Silvestri The Avengers |
Alan Walker – Faded |
![]() |
|
Alan-Menken – Enchanted (Disney) |
![]() |
Enchanted Piano Vocal Guitar |
Alanis Morisette – Hand In My Pocket | ||
Alanis Morisette – Hands Clean | ||
Alanis Morisette – Ironic | ||
Alanis Morisette – Thank You | ||
Alanis Morisette – That I Would Be Good | ||
Alanis Morisette – Uninvited | ||
Alanis Morisette – You Oughta Know | ||
Alanis Morrissete You Oughta Know Sheet Music |
![]() |
|
Alban Berg – Schliesse Mir Die Augen Beide (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Alban Berg – Schliesse mir die Augen beide (Piano and voice Noten) |
![]() |
|
Albeniz Isaac – Tango In D – Para Piano | Albeniz, Isaac – Tango In D – Para Piano | |
Albeniz For Acoustic Guitar with Audio MP3 by Laurindo Almeida |
![]() |
Albeniz for acoustic guitar with audio MP3 |
Albeniz Suite Española V (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Albéniz, Isaac – Capricho Catalán (Op. 165 no. 5) (Guitarra – Guitar) |
![]() |
|
Albéniz, Isaac – Capricho Catalán (Op. 165 no. 5) (Piano) |
![]() |
|
Albert Ammons 5 Boogie Woogie Piano Solos Sheet Music |
![]() |
Albert Ammons 5 Boogie Woogie Piano Solos Sheet Music |
Albert Ammons – Boogie Woogie Stomp |
![]() |
|
Albert Ammons – Monday Struggle | Albert Ammons – Monday Struggle | |
Albert Ammons – Shout For Joy | Albert Ammons – Shout For Joy | |
Albert Ammons – Swanee River Boogie Woogie |
![]() |
|
Albert Harris Sonatina Guitar Solo |
![]() |
|
Albert Harris Variations And Fugue On A Theme Of Haendel (Guitar) |
![]() |
|
Albert King The Very Best Of Albert King (Guitar TABs) |
![]() |
Albert King The Very Best Of Albert King |
Albert Lee – The Best Of Albert Lee Guitar Tabs |
![]() |
Albert Lee – The Best Of Albert Lee Guitar Tabs |
Albinoni – Adagio (Piano Solo Version) |
![]() |
|
ALBINONI-Adagio |
![]() |
|
Album of Russian piano music | Russian music 1 | Russian music 2 |
Album Of Scandinavian Piano Music By Louis Oesterle Vol. 1 (25 Pieces) 1902 |
![]() |
Album Of Scandinavian Piano Music By Louis Oesterle Vol. 1 (25 Pieces) 1902 |
Alegre Magín – Americana (Guitarra) Habanera (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Alegria Cirque Du Soleil Piano Vocal Guitar Chords Sheet Music |
![]() |
|
Alejandro Sanz – Amiga Mia | ||
Alejandro Sanz – La Margarita Dijo No | ||
Alejandro Sanz – Y Si Fuera Ella |