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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.
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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.
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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.
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
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.
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| Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Berklee Press – Ted Pease & Ken Pullig – Modern Jazz Voicings ( with MP3 tracks) |
 | Modern Jazz voicings |
| Berklee Reading Contemporary Electric Bass Guitar Technique (Rich Appleman) |
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| Berklee School of Music – Arranging Music (complete course) |
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| Berklee Shares – Melody – Some Basics | Book Theory | |
| Berklee Shares – Songwriter’s Workshop – Writing A Chorus | Book Theory | |
| Berklee Solo Jazz Piano CD (Neil Olmstead) with MP3 audio tracks to play along (Berklee Press) |
 | Berklee Solo Jazz Piano CD (Neil Olmstead) with MP3 audio tracks to play along (Berklee Press) |
| Berklee Workshop Jazz Guitar Techniques Modal Voicings Featuring Rick Peckham |
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| Berlin – Take My Breath Away (Piano Vocal) |
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| Bernard Herrmann Madeleine Theme from VERTIGO |
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| Bernard Herrmann PSYCHO (Prelude) piano solo |
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| Bernard Herrmann Psycho Prelude |
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| Bernard Herrmann Scene D’amour from VERTIGO |
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| Bernard Herrmann Taxi Driver |
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| Bernard Lavilliers carnets De Bord songbook |
 | Bernard Lavilliers carnets De Bord songbook Contenu — Bernard Lavilliers carnets De Bord songbook |
| Bernat Vivancos Si l’amour |
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| Bernat Vivancos El Cant Dels Ocells |
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| Bert Kaempfert Piano Album |
 | Bert Kaemfert piano album |
| Bert McCracken – Sometimes I Just Go For It | ||
| Bertini – 24 Etudes Op. 29 | Bertini etudes op 29 | |
| Bertini – 25 Etudes Faciles Op.100 | Bertini op 100 | |
| Besame mucho (Andrea Bocelli) | ||
| Bésame Mucho (Bolero Violin Guitar And Lyrics) Guitarra Y Letra Consuelo Velázquez (Musescore File) Musescore File.mscz | ||
| Bésame Mucho (Bolero – Guitar And Lyrics) Guitarra Y Letra Consuelo Velázquez (Musescore File).mscz | ||
| Besame Mucho, Bolero by Consuelo Velázquez (Piano Solo partitura, sheet music, Noten, partition) |
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| Bésame Mucho, Bolero by Consuelo Velázquez (Piano Solo partitura, sheet music, Noten, partition).mscz | ||
| Best Acoustic Songs for Easy Guitar – sheet music with Tablature |
 | Best Acoustic Songs for Easy Guitar – sheet music |
| Best Of Guitar Classics 50 Famous Concert Pieces |
 | Best Of Guitar Classics 50 Famous Concert Pieces |
| Best Of Jazz Guitar (Guitar Songbook) with embebed audio MP3 (Signature Licks) ( by Wolf Marshall) (with Tablature) |
 | Best Of Jazz Guitar (Guitar Songbook) |
| Best Of Modern Rock For Guitar with Tablature |
 | Best Of Modern Rock For Guitar |
| Best Of Piano Classics 50 Famous Pieces For Piano |
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| Best Of Russian Rock |
 | Best Of Russian Rock |
| Best Rock Songs 2000-2005 Piano-vocal-chords |
 | Best Rock Songs 2000-2005 Piano-vocal-chords |
| Best Smooth Jazz Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 50 21 selections |
 | Best Smooth Jazz Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 50 21 selections |
| Best Songs Ever – 7th edition (Piano Vocal Guitar sheet) |
 | The Best Songs Ever Piano vocal guitar |
| Best Songs Of Piano Bar Easy Piano |
 | best songs of piano bar |
| Bethena – A Concert Waltz – Scott Joplin – 1905.mscz | ||
| Bette Midler – The Rose | ||
| Bette Midler – The Wind Beneath My Wings | ||
| Betty Carter Baby, It’s Cold Outside The New Real Book 2 | Betty Carter Baby, It’s Cold Outside The New Real Book 2 | |
| Betty Carter Jazz Ain’t Nothin’ But Soul |
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| Betty Carter Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most | Betty Carter Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most | |
| Betty Carter Tight |
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| Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F – Harold Faltermeyer | ||
| Bewitched – by Rodgers & Hart |
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| Beyonce – If I Were A Boy | ||
| Beyonce B’day |
 | Beyonce B’day |
| Beyonce Dangerously In Love |
 | Beyonce Dangerously In Love |
| Beyonce Songbook – Beyonce sheet music Piano Vocal guitar |
 | Beyonce Songbook – Beyonce sheet music |
| Beyond And Before Progressive Rock Since The 1960s By Paul Hegarty, Martin Halliwell (Book) |
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| Beyond Slonimsky Melodic Patterns For Guitar |
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| Beyond The Art Of Finger Dexterity – Reassessing Carlo Czerny (Book) |
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| Big Bang Theory TV Series Main Theme | Big Bang Theory sample | |
| Big Book Of Classical Music 100 Of The World’s Favorite Pieces (Piano Solo, Sheet Music) |
 | Big Book Of Classical Music 100 Of The World’s Favorite Pieces (Piano Solo, Sheet Music) |
| Big Book Of Wedding Music, The ( Sheet Music) |
 | Big Book Of Wedding Music, The ( Sheet Music) |
| Big Fish Conductor’s Score The Musical Piano Vocal Score by Andrew Lippa |
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| Big Fish Fight The Dragons Big Fish The Musical by Andrew Lippa |
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| Big Fish The Musical Vocal Selections By Andrew Lippa |
 | Big Fish The Musical Vocal Selections By Andrew Lippa |
| Big My Secret Michael Nyman (From ‘the Piano’) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
| Biggest Pop Hits 1996 1997 Piano Vocal Guitar Chords |
 | Biggest Pop Hits 1996 1997 Piano Vocal Guitar Chords |
| Bigtime Piano Classics Level 4 Intermediate |
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| Bigtime Piano Favorites Level 4 Sheet Music |
 | Piano Favorites Bigtime Level 4 (Faber Nancy, Faber Randall.) Sheet Music |
| Bigtime Piano Hits Level 4 Intermediate |
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| Bigtime Piano Jazz & Blues Level 4 Intermediate |
 | Bigtime Piano Jazz & Blues Level 4 Intermediate |
| Bigtime Piano Popular Level 4 Intermediate |
 | Bigtime Piano Popular Level 4 Intermediate |
| Bigtime Piano Rock N Roll Level 4 Intermediate |
 | Bigtime Piano Rock N Roll Level 4 Intermediate |
| Bill Broonzy – Blues And Ragtime Guitar Big Bill Broonzy (sheet music and TAB) |
 | Bill Broonzy – Blues And Ragtime Guitar Big Bill Broonzy (sheet music and TAB) |
| Bill Dobbins – BLUES The Jazz Workshop Series |
 | Bill Dobbins – BLUES The Jazz Workshop Series (Standards & Originals All Blues |
| Bill Dobbins – Jazz Arranging and Composing |
 | Jazz arranging and composing |
| Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist V. 1 |
 | Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist Vol.1 |
| Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist V. 3 |
 | contemporary jazz pianist vol 3 |
| Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist Vol. 2 |
 | Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist Vol.2 |
| Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist Vol.4 |
 | Bill Dobbins – The Contemporary Jazz Pianist Vol.4 |
| Bill Dobbins Classic Standards Series Piano | Bill Dobbins Classic Standards Series Piano | |
| Bill Dobbins The Jazz Workshop Series Vol 1 Modal Jazz |
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| Bill Douglas Azure | Bill Douglas Azure Piano | |
| Bill Douglas Golden Rain | Bill Douglas Golden Rain | |
| Bill Douglas Hymn | Bill Douglas Hymn | |
| Bill Evans Jazz Music For Classical Guitar |
 | Bill Evans Jazz Music For Classical Guitar |
| Bill Evans Alice In Wonderland |
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| Bill Evans Autumn Leaves, Solo Transcription | Bill Evans Autumn Leaves, Solo Transcription | |
| Bill Evans Autunm Leaves |
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| Bill Evans Blue In Green |
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| Bill Evans Interplay (Piano Solo Sheet Music Transcription) | Bill Evans Interplay (Piano Solo Sheet Music Transcription) | |
| Bill Evans Laurie |
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| Bill Evans Like Someone In Love Transcription From The Album Time Remembered (Sheet Music) | Bill Evans Like Someone In Love Transcription From The Album Time Remembered (Sheet Music) | |
| Bill Evans Waltz For Debby (Complete Version) |
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| Bill Evans When I Fall In Love Victor Young |
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| Bill Evans – Time Remembered 14 Piano transcriptions |
 | Bill Evans – Time Remembered 14 Piano transcriptions |
| Bill Evans – Alfie (Piano transcription) |
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| Bill Evans – Alice in Wonderland | Bill Evans – Alice in Wonderland | |
| Bill Evans – Autumn Leaves | Bill Evans – Autunm Leaves | |
| Bill Evans – Autunm Leaves (As Recorded by) | Bill Evans – Autunm Leaves (As Recorded by) | |
| Bill Evans – B minor Waltz (for Ellaine) |
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| Bill Evans – Blue in Green (Piano transcription) |
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| Bill Evans – Danny Boy, by Frederic Weatherly (Bill Evans Jazz version) | Bill Evans – Danny Boy, by Frederic Weatherly (Bill Evans Jazz version) | |
| Bill Evans – Emily Bass sheet music |
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| Bill Evans – Ev’rything I Love (sheet music transcription) |
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| Bill Evans – Everything Happens to me – a musical biography by Keith Shadwick (Book) |
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| Bill Evans – Gone with the wind transcription |
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| Bill Evans – In a Sentimental Mood – Piano solo transcription |
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| Bill Evans – Midnight Mood by Joe Zawinul | Bill Evans – Midnight Mood by Joe Zawinul | |
| Bill Evans – My Foolish Heart by Victor Young | Bill Evans – My Foolish Heart by Victor Young | |
| Bill Evans – My Funny Valentine (Transcription) Jazz Standard sheet music |
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| Bill Evans – Never Let Me Go (Piano transcription) |
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| Bill Evans – Never Let Me Go (Piano Transcription) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
| Bill Evans – One for Helen | Bill Evans – One for Helen | |
| Bill Evans – Only Child transcription |
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| Bill Evans – Piano Solos |
 | Bill Evans Piano solos |
| Bill Evans – Rare Transcriptions 3 | Bill Evans – Rare transcriptions vol. 3 sheet music | |
| Bill Evans – Rare transcriptions vol.1 | Bill Evans – Rare transcriptions vol.1 sheet music | |
| Bill Evans – Rare transcriptions vol.2 | Bill Evans – Rare transcriptions vol. 2 sheet music | |
| Bill Evans – Remembering The Rain.mscz | ||
| Bill Evans – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town |
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| Bill Evans – Signature Licks – Piano Transcriptions |
 | Bill Evans – Signature Licks – Hal Leonard – Piano Transcriptions |
| Bill Evans – Skating in Central Park (Solo) from Undercurrent with Jim Hall |
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| Bill Evans – Someday My Prince Will Come from Portrait in Jazz sheet music Transcription | Bill Evans piano-solo-Someday my prince will come | |
| Bill Evans – Star Eyes (melody transcription) from The Universal Mind of Bill Evans | Bill Evans – Star Eyes (melody transcription) from The Universal Mind of Bill Evans (first page sample) | |
| Bill Evans – Star Eyes (melody transcription) from The Universal Mind of Bill Evans.mscz | ||
| Bill Evans – The 70’S Solo Piano |
 | Bill Evans – The 70’S, Solo Piano |
| Bill Evans – The Artistry Of Bill Evans (Songs And Improvisation Transcriptions by Pascal Wetzel) |
 | Bill Evans sheet music |
| Bill Evans – The Artistry Of Bill Evans Volume 2 (transcriptions by Bob Hinz) |
 | Bill Evans – The Artistry Of Bill Evans Volume 2 (transcriptions by Bob Hinz) |
| Bill Evans – The Dolphin piano solo transcription | Bill Evans – The Dolphin piano solo transcription | |
| Bill Evans – The Dolphin Transcription sheet music |
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| Bill Evans – The Last Compositions |
 | Bill Evans – The Last Compositions |
| Bill Evans – Theme From Mash |
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| Bill Evans – Turn out the Stars | Bill Evans – Turn out the Stars_compressed | |
| Bill Evans – Turn Out The Stars – Bill Evans (Transcription) Jazz Standard sheet music (from Some Other Time) | Bill Evans – Turn Out The Stars – Bill Evans (Transcription) Jazz Standard sheet music | |
| Bill Evans – Very Early |
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| Bill Evans – Very Early Live In Paris [1972] solo transciption |
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| Bill Evans – We will meet again from The 70’S Solo Piano |
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| Bill Evans (1969) Emily sheet music transcription |
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| Bill Evans 4 New Versions Of Bill Evans Tunes Taken From His Recordings |
 | Bill Evans_4 New Versions Of Bill Evans Tunes Taken From His Recordings |
| Bill Evans Autumn Leaves (as played in Portrait in Jazz) complete transcription | Bill Evans Autumn Leaves (as played in Portrait in Jazz) complete transcription | |
| Bill Evans B Minor Waltz Transcription | Bill Evans B Minor Waltz Transcription | |
| Bill Evans But Beautiful transcription | Bill Evans But Beautiful transcription | |
| Bill Evans Collection For Solo Guitar |
 | Bill Evans Collection For Solo Guitar |
| Bill Evans Danny Boy, by Frederic Weatherly | Danny Boy, by Frederic Weatherly (Bill Evans Jazz version) | |
| Bill Evans Emily |
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| Bill Evans Fake Book (60 original compositions transcribed and edited by Pascal Wetzel) |
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Bill Evans Fake Book (60 original transc.)  |
| Bill Evans Five |
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| Bill Evans For All We Know (We May Meet Again) Piano Solo Transcription | Bill Evans For All We Know (We May Meet Again) | |
| Bill Evans How My Heart Sings – as played by Bill Evans | Bill Evans How My Heart Sings – as played by Bill Evans | |
| Bill Evans How My Heart Sings By Pettinger Peter (Book) |
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| Bill Evans Israel (Transcription) by John Carisi | Bill Evans Israel (Transcription) by John Carisi-1 | |
| Bill Evans Jazz Piano Transcriptions |
 | Bill Evans Jazz Piano Transcriptions |
| Bill Evans Jim Hall – Romain from Undercurrent |
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| Bill Evans Like Someone In Love sheet music transcription (1962 Sessions) | Bill Evans April Like Someone In Love sheet music transcription (1962 Sessions) | |
| Bill Evans Michel Legrand What are you doing the rest of your life (transcription) | Bill Evans Michel Legrand What are you doing the rest of your life (transcription) | |
| Bill Evans Midnightmood |
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| Bill Evans Minority Transcription | Bill Evans Minority Transcription |