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Ten Jazz Standards That Absolutely Every Jazz Guitarist Should Know

28 June 2012 by Dixon Nacey Leave a Comment

Below I have compiled a short list of jazz standards I believe every keen jazz
student should learn. Ive given reasons why I think these particular tunes are so
valuable and would love for you to add in your favourites and if you can, write out
some reasons why they are on your list. Ill try and stick to the classics and not
choose too many by any one composer, despite having some definite favourites among
them. I have mainly focused on the first songs I learned, even though there are
hundreds of other tunes that have since been added into my favourite repertoire
list!
By learning a tune I mean the following

1. Learn the written melody.

Get a chart, learn the head (by heart have it memorised in at least two places on
the fret board).

Listen to the melody as played by different artists in different versions and find
one that resonates with you.

Try and identify the musical elements that make that version special in your mind
and take time to learn these articulations, embellishments and nuances has the
artist played the melody strictly, do they interpret, how do they interpret, do
they use specific arrangement techniques that alter the original and if so, what
are they?

2. Learn the original or most popularly played chords.

Use the real book chart to write out the song form with bar numbers and lettered
sections. Add in any rehearsal marks (Codas, D.S. / D.C.s etc) that are in the
original version.

Now try the methods used in learning the different melody interpretations; now look
for specific harmonic alterations; is it reharmonized, are arrangement techniques
used that add harmony in and if so what are they do you think they add to the
song and if so / if not, why? (Look for things like stop time hits and stabs which
are often reharmonized, chord substitutes or super-impositions, vamps, intros or
tags etc).

3. Research the historical elements.

Use the web or your local library to source info on the composer. Check out when
they lived, who their influences were; what music and musicians did they dig?
Compare what they were writing to other compositions they did around that time,
look at their works in chronological order, was there a progression; a sudden shift
in writing style? Did they sound like others in that same era; were the
compositions they wrote ground breaking / unique and how? What is it you can
identify about their writing in terms of musical elements?

Studying these elements can reap great rewards and give you a deeper insight into
the why and how not just the what i.e. the notes they chose or the chords they
used. Incidentally, all of these tunes will be covered in our in depth, concept
based Jazz Standards video lesson series as some point.
The List

Standard number one is Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma, originally written with
French lyrics that were adapted to English and performed extensively as a (then)
popular standard in the mid to late 1940s and on. It is commonly played in the
keys of Bb or G major. I chose this tune because the harmony is great for beginner
jazzers, being mainly in one key which makes it easy to improvise over. I dig the
way in which the chords circle using 4th movements in a logical manner (i.e. Cm-F7-
Bbma-Ebma etc). This was also one of the earliest tunes I really worked hard at
getting solid and I still call it at gigs today.

Next I chose Stella by Starlight (Victor Young, 1944), first and foremost because
I absolutely LOVE the melody. In addition, the tune has many great harmonic
movements and modulations, using common jazz changes in unexpected ways (usually by
resolving or sequencing through uncommon chords). The resulting harmonic
underpinning is fantastic, with waves of tension (heightened by the +7 chord at the
bridge and the series of descending minor 2-5s in the 4th section) juxtaposed
against eventual, distant resolves. A great exploration and workout for an
improviser!

Number 3 is All of Me (Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons, 1931) which uses a simple
but effective melody set against a long series of secondary dominant chords that
move around and against the pitch axis (of C Major). Listening to Louis Armstrongs
version (almost anything he plays and sings gives me goose-bumps!) is still a great
and humbling experience

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFzxo-XI8As.

I also really love the melody on the last section (Fma6 Fmi6), just a great
choice of notes and rhythms, super lyrical.

All the Things You Are by the great composer Jerome Kern is next up. I could
easily have dwelled on Kerns compositions for this entire blog he wrote so many
great standards, Yesterdays, Smoke Gets in Your eyes, The Song is You, A
Fine Romance, Im Old Fashioned and another personal fave The Way You Look
Tonight, any of which could be included here and classed as a definitive classic
American Songbook Standard. But All the Things was a real feature tune for me, in
that I have spent a lot of time working on it over the years and I grew up
listening to so many great versions, especially when I was just getting into jazz
(Pat Methenys version of Question and Answer was the first time I heard it). I
dig this tune because of the simplicity and beauty of the melody, the constant
modulation, the logical chord sequencing and the fact that it is through-composed
(not having a repetitive form sequence like AABA etc). Again, great study for any
budding improvisers!

My Romance is a 1935 show tune by Rodgers and Hart taken from the musical
Jumbo. I love the two beat changes, the classic key-modulations (Bb major to Gmi,
to Ebmaj, to Dmi, to C7 etc); it is a real showcase for standard changes and how
they can be used to cover all the different areas of one key centre without any
real modulations (just tonicizations / transitions towards related tonal centres).
A teacher of mine introduced me to this tune and I have never stopped calling it at
gigs, a great blowing tune.

There Will Never Be Another You was composed by Harry Warren in 1942, with lyrics
added in by Mack Gordon for inclusion in a musical entitled Iceland. Show tunes
from this era (Late 1920s to the mid 1950s in particular) yielded many wonderful
Jazz standards that are used in the repertoire of musicians worldwide, in many
genres and styles. The songs were originally part of a greater score that was the
backdrop for musicals such as Anything Goes, West Side Story, Oh, Kay, The
King and I and operas such as Porgy and Bess. In some cases, the tunes
themselves were only extracted parts of a longer piece. I love the chords in this
one and the contrafact taken from John Scofields album Works for me (cleverly
titled Not you again HA!) which is a great blend of melody and improvised
counterpoint and also one of my fave solos by Mr S.

Next up I put in Green Dolphin Street (composed by Bronislau Kaper with lyrics by
Ned Washington) because I really dig the strong melody and lyrical themes the
composer used to cover the modulating harmony. Soloing on this tune is so much fun.
I remember learning the tune and trying to memorise the chords away from my
instrument (I was around 19 at the time) which turned out to be one of the best
*CLICK* moments in my musical life for the first time ever I was attempting to
see and hear music without my guitar in hand. This then became what I call the
Sing-Play rule, where I would sing everything I played, (at first in my head) an
improvising tool I still really value.

I thought I would include a ballad here; the first one I ever learned was When I
fall in Love by Victor Young, with lyric by Ed Hayman. A close second would be
Misty and third would be Body and Soul, then theres Round Midnight, When
Sunny Gets Blue in fact I could probably write about a dozen classic ballad
favourites! I remember the challenge of memorising When I fall in Love it has
such a long song form but the melody and lyric act as a strong guide; I
particularly love the final section before the restatement of the last line (And
the moment I can feel that, You feel that way too, Is when I fall in love with
you) that melody and series of chords is stunning! If you have time, have a search
round for versions of the ballads listed here and add to the list below!

I must include Summertime by George and Ira Gershwin as it is probably the most
covered, widely known jazz standard of all; or close to it! So many great versions
and arrangements exist today; I couldnt choose a favourite. Its one of those
tunes you can call at any gig because everyones going to know it and have some
different arrangement or way of playing the changes.

And lastly I wanted to include one of my favourite jazz blues and a bebop tune to
boot; Billies Bounce. This was the first jazz blues I learned after I heard
Benson play the absolute stuffing out of it in a quartet version from 1968 off the
album Giblet Gravy. Just a killing version with a ridiculous line up Herbie
Hancock (Pn), Ron Carter(Bs), Billy Cobham (Dr) and Johnny Pacheco (Prc). Check it
out!

Leave comments questions and favorite standard lists below.

About Latest Posts

Dixon Nacey
Teacher and Mentor at jazzguitarlegend.com
Dixon Nacey is a proud father and founder of jazzguitarlegend.com a site dedicated
to teaching the art of jazz guitar.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Jazz Standards

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