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.
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.
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.
Search in our Library by author, or song name.
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
A dozen A Day Book 2 Technical exercises for the piano | ||
A dozen A Day Book 3 Technical exercises for the piano | ||
A dozen A Day Book 4 Technical exercises for the piano | ||
A dozen A Day Mini Book Technical exercises for the piano | ||
A dozen Day Preparatory Book Technical exercises for the piano | ||
A Farewell To Arms Love Theme From A Farewell To Arms film by Mario Nascimbene Francis Webster 1957 | ||
A Felicidade (Antonio Carlos Jobim) | ||
A Festival Gathering Of Carols (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A Fine Frenzy – Almost Lover | ||
A Fistful of Dollars (Ennio Morricone) | ||
A Generative Theory Of Tonal Music by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff (Book) | ||
A Guide To Guitar Chords by Curt Sheller | A Guide To Guitar Chords by Curt Sheller | |
A Guide To Musical Analysis by Nicholas Cook (Book) | ||
A Handbook Of Piano Playing (By Eric Hope) (1962) | ||
A Heart Full Of Love (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A love suicide (Yutaka Minobe) | ||
A Love Supreme (by Ashley Kahn) The story of john Coltrane’s signature album (Book) | ||
A Media Luz (Edgardo Donato) | ||
A Modern Approach To Jazz Rock And Fusion For Guitar with Tablature | A Modern Approach To Jazz Rock And Fusion For Guitar | |
A Modern Method For Guitar (Berklee) 1 by William Leavitt | A Modern Method Berklee 1 | |
A Modern Method For Guitar (Berklee) 2 by William Leavitt | A Modern Method For Guitar (Berklee) 2 | |
A Modern Method For Guitar (Berklee) 3 by William Leavitt | A Modern Method For Guitar (Berklee) 3 | |
A MOZART REINCARNATED (Ennio Morricone) | ||
A Mozart Reincarnated by Ennio Morricone (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A New Approach To Ear Training by Leo Kraft (BOOK) | ||
A New Approach To Piano Technique (By Ruth A. Dickerson) (1962) | A new approach to piano technique | |
A Night In Tunisia – Dizzy Gillespie.mscz | ||
A Pedal Method For The Piano (By Albert F Venino) (1893) | ||
A Popular Account Of Ancient Musical Instruments And Their Development by William Lynd (Book 1897) | ||
A Rockin’ Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar | 20 songs to sing on a rockin’ Christmas Eve Includes: All I Want for Christmas Is You * Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer * Happy Xmas (War Is Over) * Jingle-Bell Rock * Merry Merry Christmas Baby * Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree * Santa Baby & moreRockin Christmas | |
A Single Man – George’s Waltz (Shigeru Umebayashi) | ||
A Single Man – Stillness of the Mind (Abel Korzeniowski) | ||
A Smooth Jazz Christmas – Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano arr. Roger House | A Smooth Jazz Christmas – Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano arr. Roger House | |
A Song For You – Leon Russell Ray Charles (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A Star Is Born – Always Remember Us This Way Lady Gaga | ||
A Star Is Born – Shallow Lady Lady Gaga | ||
A Tale Of Two Sisters Ost – Epilogue Piano Solo | ||
A Thousand Years – Twilight OST (Christina Perri) | ||
A Time For Love – Johnny Mandel | ||
A Time For Us – Guitar TABlature | ||
A Time For Us (Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet) Nino Rota | ||
A Time For Us (Romeo and Juliet OST) Nino Rota | ||
A Touch Of Jazz 14 well-known hymns, gospel songs and contemporary praise songs by Wolaver Bill | A Touch Of Jazz 14 well-known hymns, gospel songs and contemporary praise songs by Wolaver Bill | |
A Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald Piano Vocal Guitar | A tribute to ELLA FITZGERALD | |
A Walk To Remember – Only Hope | ||
A whiter shade of pale – Procul Harum | A whiter shade of pale – Procul Harum | |
AaRON U-turn Lili Piano | ||
Ab Ovo – Joep Beving (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Abba – Abba Gold – Greatest Hits | ABBA Gold Geatest Hits booksong sheet music | |
Abba – Chiquitita | ||
Abba – Dancing Queen | ||
Abba – Fernando | ||
Abba – I Have A Dream | ||
Abba – Like An Angel Passing Through My Room | ||
Abba – Mamma Mia | ||
Abba – Slipping Through My Fingers | ||
Abba – Thank You For The Music | Abba-Thank-You-For-The-Music 1st page | |
ABBA – Thank You For The Music (Piano Vocal Guitar) | ABBA – Thank You For The Music (Piano Vocal Guitar) | |
ABBA – Thank You For the Music (Piano vocal Guitar) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Abba – Thank You For The Music Piano & vocal | Abba – Thank You For The Music-abba-satb | |
Abba – The Winner Takes It All | ||
ABBA Dancing Queen Easy Piano Solo | ||
ABBA Fernando (Piano Solo arr.) | ||
ABBA Fernando (Piano Solo arr.).mscz | ||
ABBA Greatest Hits | ABBA GREATEST HITS SHEET MUSIC BOOK | |
ABBA I Have A Dream | ||
Abba The Very Best Vol 1 Easy Piano Hans Gunter Heumann Pop Classics For Piano | Abba The Very Best Vol 1 Easy Piano | |
Abba The Very Best Vol 2 Easy Piano Hans Gunter Heumann Pop Classics For Piano | Abba The Very Best Vol 2 Easy Piano | |
Abbey Lincoln Songbook | Abbey Lincoln Songbook | |
Abbey Lincoln Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Abbey Lincoln Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
Abdullah Ibrahim – The Piano World Of | Abdullah Ibrahim, The Piano World Of | |
Abdullah Ibrahim The African Piano Of Abdullah Ibrahim Vol 1 | Abdullah Ibrahim The African Piano Of Abdullah Ibrahim Vol 1 | |
Abdullah Ibrahim The Wedding (piano solo transcription sheet music, partition) | ||
Abel Korzeniowski – Death Is My Heir (from Romeo and Juliet) | ||
ABRSM Jazz Piano Pieces Grade 1 to 5 | ABRSM Jazz Piano Pieces Grade 1 to 5 ABRSM Jazz Piano Pieces Grade 5ABRSM Jazz Piano Pieces Grade 5 | |
ABRSM Piano Exam Pieces Grade 1 (2016) | ABRSM Piano Exam Pieces Grade 1 (2016) | |
ABRSM Piano Scales, Arpeggios Grade 8 | ||
ABRSM Piano Scales, Arpeggios and broken chords Grade 1 | ||
ABRSM Piano Scales, Arpeggios and broken chords Grade 4 | ABRSM Piano Scales, Arpeggios and broken chords Grade 4 | |
ABRSM Piano Scales, Grade 2 A Guide for Students and Teachers | ABRSM Piano Scales, Grade 2 A Guide for Students and Teachers | |
ABRSM – Time pieces for guitar vol. 1 | ||
ABRSM – Time pieces for guitar vol. 2 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 1 | ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 1 | |
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 2 | ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 2 | |
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 3 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 4 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 5 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 6 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 7 | ||
ABRSM 2017 18 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 8 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 1 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 2 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 3 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 5 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 6 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Grade 8 | ||
ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Initial Grade | ABRSM 2021-2022 Piano Exam Pieces Initial Grade | |
ABRSM Aural Training In Practice Book 1 Grades 1 to 3 | ||
ABRSM Aural Training In Practice Book 2 Grades 4 and 5 | ||
ABRSM Discovering Music Theory (Complete) Grades 1 to 5 Workbook by Simon Rushby (2020 Exams) | ABRSM Discovering Music Theory (Complete) Grades 1 to 5 Workbook by Simon Rushby (2020 Exams) contents | |
ABRSM Erster Verlust Grade 4 ABRSM Piano Exam Pieces 2021 & 2022 | ||
ABRSM Etude In A Minor – Dmitry Kabalevsky ABRSM Grade 4 Piano Exam Pieces 2021 & 2022 | ||
ABRSM Grade 2 – Inter-City Stomp byChristopher Norton From Microjazz Collection (Sheet Music) | ||
ABRSM Initial Grade Piano Exam Pieces 2023 2024 | ||
ABRSM Minuet and Trio D 41 No 21 – Franz Schubert ABRSM Grade 4 Piano Exam Pieces 2021 & 2022 | ||
ABRSM More Music Theory Sample Papers Grade 5 For New Format | ||
ABRSM Music Theory In Practice, Grade 1 (Eric Taylor) | ||
ABRSM Music Theory In Practice, Grade 2 (Eric Taylor) | ||
ABRSM Music Theory Past Papers Grade 1 2004 | ||
ABRSM Music Theory Past Papers Grade 4 2016 | ||
ABRSM Music Theory Past Papers Grade 5 2012 | ||
ABRSM Music Theory Past Papers Grade 6 2013 | ||
ABRSM Nikki Iles Danny Boy ABRSM Piano Exam Grade 8 2023 Jazz Piano arr. inspired by Bill Evans | ||
ABRSM Nikki Iles Friends Book 1 Intermediate Jazz Pieces For Piano | ABRSM Nikki Iles Friends Book 1 Intermediate Jazz Pieces For Piano | |
ABRSM Nikki Iles Friends Book 2 Intermediate To Advanced Jazz Pieces For Piano | ABRSM Nikki Iles Friends Book 2 Intermediate To Advanced Jazz Pieces For Piano | |
ABRSM Nikki Iles The Elephant Parade ABRSM piano Exam | ||
ABRSM Piano 2025-2026 Grade 8 C3 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square by Sherwin – Maschwitz | ||
ABRSM Piano Exam 2007-2008 Grade 3 | ||
ABRSM Piano Exam 2015-16 Grade 3 | ABRSM Piano Exam 2015-16 Grade 3 | |
ABRSM Piano Exam 2023-24 Grade 3 C3 THE ENTERTAINER – SCOTT JOPLIN |