What is a Jazz Standard?

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.

free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti What is a Jazz Standard?

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.

If you are already a subscriber, please, check our NEW SCORES’ page every month for new sheet music. 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.

free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras jazz standard

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).

free scores Jazz standards

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.
Total Records Found in the Library: 12469, showing 120 per page
Artist or Composer / Score nameCoverList of Contents
Trinity Classical Guitar Grade 05 2010-2015 free scores
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 1 Pieces & Technical work free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 1
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 2 Pieces & Technical work free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 2
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 6 Pieces & Technical work free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 6
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 7 Pieces & Technical work free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Electronic Keyboard Grade 7
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Initial Grade 2019-2022 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Initial Pieces and Technical Work 2015-2018 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Trinity Electronic Keyboard Sample Booklet free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 1 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 2 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 3
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 4 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 5 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 6 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 7 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Grade 8 sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar 2016 2019 Initial sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Trinity Guitar Initial to Grade 5 Scales Arpeggios and studies free scores
Trinity Piano Grade 1 Pieces and exercises 2018 2020 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Piano Grade 1 Pieces and exercises 2018 2020
Trinity Piano Grade 2 Pieces and exercises 2018 2020 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Trinity Piano Grade 3 Pieces and exercises 2018 2020 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Trinity Piano Grade 5 Pieces and exercises free scores
Trinity Piano Grade 6 (2021-2023) Extended Edition sheet music partitura partition noten spartiti Trinity Piano Grade 6 (2021-2023) Extended Edition
Trinity Piano Grade 6 Pieces and exercises free scores
Trinity Piano Initial Piano 2018-2020 Trinity Piano Initial Piano 2018-2020 Trinity Piano Initial Piano 2018-2020
Trinity Piano Pieces And Exercises Grade 1 2015 2017 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Piano Pieces And Exercises Grade 1 2015 2017
Trinity Piano Pieces And Exercises Grade 2 2015 2017 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Piano Pieces And Exercises Grade 2 2015 2017
Trinity Piano Pieces Grade 1 2021-2023 free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Piano Pieces Grade 1 2021-2023
Trinity Piano Pieces Grade 2 12 Piano Pieces 2021-2023 free sheet music download partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Piano Pieces Grade 2 12 Piano Pieces 2021-2023
Trinity Rock and Pop Guitar Grade 8 (Contemporary and classic songs) with Tablature free sheet music downloadpartitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Rock and Pop Guitar Grade 8 (Contemporary and classic songs)
Trinity Sight Reading Book 1 Sound at sight Piano free scores
Trinity Theory Of Music Workbook Grade 1 free sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Trinity Theory Of Music Workbook Grade 1
True Silent Hill-2- Akira-Yamaoka free sheet music pdf
Truman Show, The Reunion Philip Glass free scores download
Trumpet Method Allen Vizzutti Trumpet Method Book 1 2 3 Complete free sheet music partitura partition noten
Trumpet Method Anthony Plog Method For Trumpet Complete 7 books free sheet music partitura partition noten
Trumpet Omnibook For B Flat Instruments Transcribed Exactly From Artist Recorded Solos sheet music download Trumpet Omnibook For B Flat Instruments Transcribed Exactly From Artist Recorded Solos
Trumpet Solos, Easy (The Canadian Brass) sheet music download
Trumpet, The (John Wallace, Alexander McGrattan) Yale Musical Instruments Series (Book) sheet music download
Tsim Sha Tsui Stroll (Lust, Caution OST) Alexandre Desplat
Tu vuo’ fa’ l’Americano (Renato Carosone)
Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield) free sheet music pdf
Tubular Bells Intro – Mike Oldfield (Musescore File).mscz
Tuck Andress Europa by Carlos Santana guitar TABs free sheet music partitura partition noten
Tuck Everlasting (The Musical) Music By Chris Miller Lyrics By Nathan Tysen (Piano Vocal Selections) free sheet music partitura partition noten Tuck Everlasting (The Musical) Music By Chris Miller Lyrics By Nathan Tysen (Piano Vocal Selections)
Tunes For Ten Fingers A First Piano Book By Pauline Hall (Oxford) sheet music download
TV and Movie Themes (Piano, Vocal, Guitar) sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras TV and Movie Themes (Piano, Vocal, Guitar)
TV Detective Themes For Solo Piano sheet music score download partitura partition spartiti 楽譜 TV Detective Themes For Solo Piano
TV Fake Book, The free scores TV Fake Book, The
TV Songs Big Book Of TV Theme Songs 2nd Edition Piano Vocal Guitar sheet music partitura partition noten spartiti TV Songs Big Book Of TV Theme Songs 2nd Edition Piano Vocal Guitar Contents
Twelve Etudes Op 8 No 12 Scriabin (Musescore File).mscz
Twenty One Pilots – Goner free sheet music pdf
Twenty One Pilots – Heathens – Piano free sheet music pdf
Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out Sheet Music Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out Sheet Music
Twenty-Four Italian Songs And Arias Medium High sheet music pdf Twenty-Four Italian Songs And Arias, Medium High
Twice – Knock Knock Piano Solo sheet music download
Twilight – The Score – Carter Burwell sheet music pdf Twilight – The Score – CArter Burwell
Twilight saga – New Moon Music Score for Piano Solo Alexandre Desplat Twilight.New.Moon.Music.Score.for.Piano.Solo).Alexandre.Desplat
Twin Peaks – Audreys Dance Angelo Badalamenti
Twin Peaks – Laura Palmers Theme Angelo Badalamenti
Twin Peaks – Twin Peaks Theme Angelo Badalamenti
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations Suzuki Guitar Vol. 1 (Musescore File).mscz
Two Socks theme (Dances with Wolves OST) John Barry
Two Steps From Hell Blackheart Piano Sheet Music by Thomas Bergersen free sheet music partitura partition noten
Two Steps From Hell Flight Of The Silverbird (Piano Solo) Thomas Bergersen free sheet music partitura partition noten
Two Steps from Hell Invincible Sheet Music free sheet music partitura partition noten
Two Steps From Hell Star Sky by Thomas Bergersen free sheet music partitura partition noten
Txarango – La Dansa Del Vestit En Fa M sheet music score download partitura partition spartiti
Tymoczko, Prof. Dimitri MUSXI 105 Handouts 1 Book Theory
Tymoczko, Prof. Dimitri MUSIC 106 Handouts Book Theory
U2 The Piano Collection U2 The Piano Collection
U2 – All I Want Is U
U2 – Best Of – (Guitar Tab Songbook) free scores U2 – Best Of – (Guitar Tab Songbook) ContentsU2 – Best Of – (Guitar Tab Songbook)
U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (guitar tab songbook) sheet music pdf U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (guitar tab songbook) ContentsU2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (guitar tab songbook)
U2 – October
U2 – Stuck In A Moment You Cant Get Out Of
U2 – The Best of 1990-2000 (Songbook) – U2 sheet music Noten sheet music score partitura partition U2 – The Best of 1990-2000 (Songbook) – U2 sheet music
U2 – The Best Of U2 (recorded versions) Guitar with TABs free sheet music & pdf scores download U2 – Best Of – (Guitar Tab Songbook)
U2 – The Sweetest Thing
U2 Rock Score 5 Great Songs free sheet music & pdf scores download
U2 The Joshua Tree Guitar Songbook with TABs free sheet music pdf U2 The Joshua Tree Guitar Songbook
U2 WAR sheet music pdf U2 WAR
UB40 The Best Of – Piano, vocal & Guitar Songbook free sheet music pdf UB40 The Best Of – Piano, vocal & Guitar Songbook
Ubi Caritas – Ola Gjeilo (Musescore File).mscz
Ubi Caritas -Ola Gjeilo-with piano improvisation free sheet music pdf
Ukelele Chord Finder – Easy to use Guide free sheet music & scores pdf download
Ukrainian folk song.mscz
Ukulele – 3-Chord Christmas Carols For Ukulele (Guitar Songbook Sheet Music) 30 Holiday Favorites With Just 3 Chords ree sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Ukulele – 3-Chord Christmas Carols For Ukulele (Guitar Songbook Sheet Music) 30 Holiday Favorites With Just 3 Chords
Ukulele – Simple Songs For Ukulele (Guitar Sheet Music) ree sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti Ukulele – Simple Songs For Ukulele (Guitar Sheet Music)
Ukulele – The Daily Ukulele (Songbook) – Jim Beloff Guitar Sheet Music ree sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti
Ukulele for Kids Songbook Ukulele Method sheet music download
Ultimate 80s Songs sheet music Ultimate 80s Songs
Ultimate Guitar Chord-Book free sheet music & scores pdf
Ultimate Guitar Songbook with TABs free sheet music pdf Ultimate Guitar Songbook, The (110 songs)
Ultimate Latin Piano Riffs – Carlos Campos & Andrew D.Gordon sheet music Ultimate Latin Piano Riffs – Carlos Campos & Andrew D.Gordon
Umberto Tozzi Gloria – Piano Vocal sheet music partitura partition noten spartiti
Un air de liberté (Et maintenant on va où OST) Khaled Mouzanar
Un anno d’amore (Mina)
Un Homme et son Chien (Philippe Rombi)
Un Monstre À Paris La Seine And I By Vanessa Paradis & Sean Lennon (Piano Vocal) sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Un Monstre à Paris – La Seine And I by Vanessa Paradis & Sean Lennon (Piano vocal).mscz
Una Mattina (Musescore File).mscz
Unchained Melody (Sheet Music) – The Righteous Brothers Noten sheet music score partitura partition
Under The Sea Ukulele Guitar From The Little Mermaid sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Under The Sea – Ukulele Guitar.mscz
Understanding chord progressions for Guitar by Arnie Berle sheet music score download partitura partition spartiti Understanding chord progressions for Guitar
Understanding The Fundamentals Of Classical Music Course Guide Modern Scholar (Book) sheet music download
Undertale Full OST – Toby Fox free sheet music & scores pdf
Undertale Megalovania Piano – Toby Fox free sheet music & scores pdf
Undertale – Home sheet music score download partitura partition spartiti
Undertale – Megalovania
Undertale OST – Hopes and Dreams Save the World sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
UNDERTALE OST – Hopes and Dreams Save the World Piano Solo.mscz
Undertale OST – Hopes and DreamsSave the World.mscz
Undertale Ost – Nyeh Heh Heh! Bonetrousle sheet music download
partitions gratuites Noten spartiti partituras
Une Heure de Plus (Erik Berchot)
Unfaithful (Rihanna)
Unfinished Music – Richard Kramer free sheet music & scores pdf
Unforgettable – Irving Gordon (Nat King Cole Song) (Musescore File).mscz
Unforgettable – Irving Gordon (Nat King Cole Song) Piano Solo Sheet Music Unforgettable – Irving Gordon (Nat King Cole Song) Piano Solo Sheet Music
sheet music library

It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive our new posts in your inbox.

This field is required.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.