10 Master Jazz Standards You Need to Know

[@Learnjazzstandards]

What's your favorite jazz standard? Let me know in the comments.

[@billofjazz]

Hi Brent. Just finished viewing your great video. My top 10 favorite tunes would include all but "So What" on your list. I always run out of chord subs within the first 12 bars and yearn for something more challenging. Your "Learn Jazz Standards" tops my list of favorite URL's for it's content and access to most of the top jazz tunes available to learn. Than you have added renditions of each by most of our jazz artists that allow us to play along with adds an infinite amount of experience. I go there every day. Thanks for your dedication to All That Is Jazz. George

[@MarcBassTube]

Hi Brent - love LJS, awesome and really useful work! My fav standard at the moment is “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” because I am fascinated by this simple minor blues melody played over a harmonic structure I do not understand, but which works magically. I would love to get the key to understanding it one day! Thanks again for your work and help.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Glad to be of help! That's a great tune, haunting. The harmony is definitely a bit of a trip, but fun to explore!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Hi George, glad to be of help!

[@billofjazz]

Thanks for the reply, Brent. If the tune is called for I do not have any problem playing it but it has so little chordal action that I soon lapse into light sleep, and happy that I wear a guitar strap. All the very best. I rely a lot on your standards list for which I heap a ton of gratitude upon your shoulders for having them available. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

[@valcinemmanuel2442]

My favorites are 1) There will Never be another you 2) I ve never been in love before. 3) No more Blues 4) my little boat 5) Influenza do Jazzy 6) A night at Tunisia 7)Nica ' s drum 8)All the things you are 9) Night and Day 10) new moon

[@greenhotdog12345]

valcin Emmanuel You mean Nica's Dream

[@desystarlightmc]

1. Autumn leaves 2. All the things you are 3. So what 4. Blue bossa 5. Sweet georgia 6.It could happen tou you 7. All of me 8. On green dolphin street 9. Stella by starlight 10. Have u met Mrs jones

[@billofjazz]

Yours and Brent's list coincide very well and represent some of my top 100 tunes. Model tunes like "So What" has only 4 chords in it and quickly becomes a bore to me because I slipped into jazz to get away from CW and Rock since they are not a chordal challenge. Blues can encounter 2 chords of each measure of the 12 bar variety and the style and rhythm are totally open to your interpretation. I play guitar and would love to hear your music played with me as an audience.

[@cobyup10]

*Miss Jones... that means she's available lol

[@cobyup10]

@@billofjazz hmmm you might be better off to think of So What as having 2 chords. A D Dorian key center and up a half step to Eb Dorian. With an understanding of the modes, you could think of the other chords as iii-7 preceding the ii-7 (dorian).... major nerd, I know.

[@sangchau7115]

no fly me to the moon, crying......

[@dancopeland5280]

I hate you

[@manuell.4998]

Donna Lee, The melody is perfect for learn to make solos. Its a bank of licks.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Totally true Manuel! In fact, most of those bebop heads are basically just solos with reoccurring themes. Excellent resources for study.

[@joehernandez5600]

I agree on your top ten. My other favorites are: All Blues Goodbye Pork Pie Hat Darn That Dream Donna Lee Someday My Prince Will Come

[@matthewbraselman4289]

Softly as in a Morning Sunrise is probably always gonna be my favorite tune to play on alto sax. I fell in love with this tune as soon as I heard my friends playing it.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Love that one, Matthew! Thanks for sharing.

[@paulgrunden5401]

Emily Remler's recording is a jazz guitar master class in itself IMO.

[@docmansound1]

Summertime, it's really nice for beginners

[@triggz.triggersong]

My teacher started me on All of Me. I didn’t know why he picked that one until I was sent out into the “real world” and it was in so many jam sessions.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Good choice on your teacher's part! Not only is it a commonly called tune, it has a lot of great harmonic lessons packed in there as well.

[@Sandemose]

I would include a jazz blues, like Tenor Madness, Billies Bounce, Blue Monk or Straight no chaiser. Great list. Back to practicing. One other tip would be listening to Tom Harrell playing blues in all keys (with Aebersold I think) where he plays fantastic, basic, almost cliché like lines, but with such davestating time feel and precence. There is videos where the solo in transcribed. Im working at the time with transposing all the phrases to the original key and Im learning a whole lot about how to play clear and to describe to changes with lines.

[@themackan881]

Beatrice - Sam Rivers! So beautiful progression and fun to play around with.

[@Sp4zc0r3]

Love that tune and play it all the time, but audiences don't know it (around here, anyway)

[@sebastianolmedo7743]

My favorite jazz standards consists of the following below!! 1) All the things you are 2) Body and soul 3) Misty 4) What is this thing called love 5) On green dolphin street 6) Joy spring 7) Days of wines and roses 8) Softly as in a morning sunrise 9) My funny valentine 10) But not for me

[@carlitoscuba16]

There are so many great standards that is hard to have a favorite one, but I really love, Blues in Green, Misty and "what are you doing the rest fo your life".

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Those are all great tunes Carlitos! Blue in Green definitely was one of my favorite ballads to play for a while.

[@mrMATRIXGURU]

I love the tunes Bye Bye blackbird, I’ve never been in love before (as a ballad or swinger), and there will never be another you.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Awesome picks Pierson! Love those ones too.

[@bigdaddyg5585]

canadian sunset by wes montgomery touches deep as a fave

[@mokshdhawan1966]

1. Giant Steps

[@richardsorice4509]

My favorites: 1. Alone Together 2. Stella 3. Girl From Ipanema 4. Beatrice 5. Out Of Nowhere 6. Days Of Wine And Roses 7. Birks Works (and other minor blues) 8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (and other 12 bar jazz blues) 9. There Is No Greater Love 10. Old Folks Really hard to narrow down to 10. I appreciate the chance to list these. Thanks for the great video!

[@Agustinelmoro]

I'm a Flamenco player, and new to Jazz, so the one that I have to say is my favorite is Autumn Leaves. It was the first one that I truly learned, and internalized. It's my favorite because of it's cycling through 4ths, and the Major and Minor ii V I's. I learned it in E minor, and found that I could mix it with some of the Rumbas that I play, Tres Notas para Quererte, by Vincente Amigo, which is always enjoyable while I'm playing. The concept of mashing songs or themes together.

[@louisthompson1020]

ALL Blues is my favorite jazz standard , easy melody , easy chord changes

[@dorianvaughn1915]

September In The Rain, I'll Remember April, This I Dig Of You, Stella By Starlight... Just some of my favorites.

[@gordo64ful]

Nice list! Out of the top of my head, my favorites include Round Midnight, Out Of Nowhere, Old Folks, and so on.

[@drj602]

Yeah, "all the things" is one of my favorites

[@Spielord]

Walkin' Shoes because it's one of the few standards written with the Bari sax in mind (also take the a train because big band jazz is some of my favorite stuff to play )

[@claudemariechampagne1349]

Great list! Three of my favorites: Black Orpheus, Summer Time. and Footprints. Great tunes when beginning to learn to improvise!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Great picks Claude!

[@gerrycoogan6544]

Some favourites... Ain't Misbehaving Stardust (including verse!!!) Don't Get Around Much Anymore Cheek To Cheek Misty On The Sunny Side Of The Street They Can't Take That Away From Me Moonlight Serenade I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free You Do Something To Me The Way You Look Tonight. The reason? Simply that they're all great tunes with juicy chord progressions. On another day, I'd probably pick a totally different list. There are just so many great tunes to learn and absorb.

[@rdicos1]

my favourite song is Con Alma, but recently I have been playing Angel Eyes. I like this one because it infers a turnaround where there isn't one, and the ending breaks pattern, then there is the optional Ella Fitzgerald ending to close.

[@Zodiak34]

my fav is Smell like teen spirit

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Ha! Check this out though: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2HTZoCuj516fJI

[@vectortemple]

ROFLMAO

[@musiccampwithlumpyandlisa9025]

Latin or BeBop?

[@sega62s]

Butthead

[@cardboardtenshi1008]

Smoke in the water

[@dwightfrie]

It's hard to have a favorite but I do love to play the Flintstones.

[@mokshdhawan1966]

Jacob Collier has a truly amazing arrangement of it.

[@001jinete]

take five, it's compelled me to be aware of the form!!!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Indeed!

[@davehappablap5549]

'Round Midnight.... two reasons... Dexter Gordon's version is superb, AND the haunting minor-esque composition of the chords and melody is just so evocative of the concept of life "'Round Midnight" ...

[@danielirilarry]

I love many of them. But the one that comes to my mind at this particular moment is Blussette! Thank you for all!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Love Bluesette. Great pick Daniel!

[@zal8424]

My favorite is satin doll, its so jazzy

[@edgarmartini8516]

T A K E F I V E

[@johnnydessi8567]

Round Midnight, the theme moves my soul...

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Love that one too Johnny!

[@wyattbreymeyer4033]

misty is the first jazz anything i learned and it made my gma cry because her mom would play it all the time

[@franciscobecerra5660]

Spain! I remember playing it a lot with my friends back when I was in high school, so it has a special place in my heart :D.

[@tomscott1741]

I would love to hear you jamming over all of these backing tracks! That would be awesome! Show all these kiddies trying to learn the music how it's done LOL

[@noi5emaker]

Footprints is one of my faves. Four On Six is great because it has a really long Gm section and fun to jam over. And of course Donna Lee is worth doing if for no other reason than the bad reason of seeing how fast you can play it! “Hey look at me!”

[@williamharrison1080]

April in Paris Lullaby of Birdland Pennies From Heaven Stompin at the Savoy

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Great tunes William!

[@XasNitram]

7 of yours we share in common and your explanation is great...thanx ! gonna check them all in your stream

[@TheBankBand]

My favorite is A NIght In Tunisia

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Great pick Pawel!

[@kitbarrett1683]

I love having Alex Turner as my teacher...

[@CrowleyStarkey]

I think my favorite standard would be There Will Never be Another You, but there's a special place in my heart for Darn that Dream.

[@trunuyorker7]

My favorite standard is What’ll I Do...sung by Tierney Sutton along with Christian Jacob on piano.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Good pick, and like that you have specific musicians in mind!

[@musiccampwithlumpyandlisa9025]

Either Fly Me To The Moon or Autum Leaves or Here's That Rainy Day or Straight No Chaser or Ipanema or East of the Sun or Lydia The Tatooed Lady. Seriously, FMTTM is likely the only extreme largo ballad I can tolerate. I think I could listen to Mr Bennett sing it at 20 bpm and still dig it. OTOH, Funny Valentine at 40 makes me consider wrist slitting. Thanks for all the bax and videos. - Lumpy

[@gravitywell6350]

Misty... I like the immediate departure from EbMaj7 to the Bbmin7 starting the 2-5-1 in AbMaj7,then it goes minor; WOW; the Ab-7 to the tri sub Db9. i love the stepwise motion tritone subs give me in the bass not to mention the minimal hand motion as I go thru the 2-5-1 progression. It also makes memorizing the songs easier. It's hard to explain. Talking about music is like dancing about archetecture. I like these too of course... How high the moon Autumn Leaves A Train Lullaby OF Birdland Hit that jive Jack Frim fram Sauce The Christmas song (Torme)

[@divepeace1]

"A Foggy Day in London Town" is a really great one, and "My baby just cares about me"

[@DoJazz]

Good list but I think there should be a Blues and a Rhythm changes in there. I would go with "Tenor Madness" and "I got rhythm", because if you're gonna pick just one Rhythm changes you have to go with The One.

[@PauloCesar-fj6dr]

Great. I'm from Brazil. My favorite tunes: Só what and ALL blues

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Nice, and great choices!

[@dazzid]

#11 Dona lee #12 Iris (Wayne Shorter)

[@IanJonesOnSax]

I could play Beautiful Love all day. Absolutely love it 😊

[@Learnjazzstandards]

I could play that one all day too. Great pick!

[@comhghallgeraghty3541]

Check out Dexter Gordon's version of blue bossa. His sound is perfect for the tune and his 2 5 1 riffs I've never heard anywhere else. Love it

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Totally agree, Dexter plays perfectly in general!

[@sergiogvv]

Recordame and Grooveyard are a few of my personal favorites

[@raysjazzblog]

Lot's of favourite standards but, if I have to choose just one, I'll Remember April.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Also a big fan of that one. Great pick Ray!

[@damianbiondo812]

Coltrane's soprano take on My Favorite Things.

[@robertokbidi239]

well, this favorite standard list look like the 50 standards u must know!!! for me, it's the night has a thousands eyes!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Nice choice Robert!

[@jamkey6536]

Missed this channel, great to see a video of yours again. I've been able to keep up with jazz theory and such... I would love to see a video on great solos and scales

[@Learnjazzstandards]

We'll be coming out with new videos each week now, and certainly both of those topics are on the books!

[@mrs.bloxx-li]

Basie’s “Corner Pocket” you can just groove on it forever as player or listener. (Freddy Green’s tune, actually.)

[@rudyqualls75]

A Nightengale sang in Berkely Square, On the Street where you live, Makin Whoopie are my favorites

[@MrHidan30]

My Favorite Things and Airegin are a couple of my favorite standards.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Good picks Dustin! Airegin has some great changes.

[@coachpete9997]

Nearness of you the sonny stitt version but usually I can listen to all different covers arnett Cobb version is almost a tie to me as well great video I recently made my top ten songs I want to cover but they come from all over hehe

[@labib3x]

All Blues-Ron Carter; Blue in Green-Miles Davis

[@EddieEntertainment]

I think that the rhythm changes and blues changes are the most most important

[@nameunavailable1234]

I agree, so many songs based on those. Especially important to know how jazz players substitute blues chords. As far as my favorite standard, I really like Joe Henderson's Recordame for the nice combination of modal and ii-V based improvisation.

[@duncanjohnson712]

My favourite standard would be Body And Soul. As a sax player, I first heard this tune by Dexter Gordon. Damn! Was I hooked!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Classic ballad, and a good one too. Good pick!

[@chocolatte629]

I would offerSomeday My Prince Will Come. Beautiful tune. Jazz waltz. If you can play this people will know you're serious.

[@videnteloco]

Afternoon in Paris, Tune Up, So What, Cotton Tail, Billie's Bounce, All of me, etc.

[@AndyRoidEU]

Feel the tunes, Luke, feel the tunes.

[@JensLarsen]

Good choices! Certainly a few of my favourites! 🙂👍

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Glad you dug it Jens!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Also, have dug your channel for a while, Jens! Excellent stuff.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Brent!

[@gbrielbuis6333]

Whoa whoa whoa Jens Larsen! How fun. I like seeing the video makers involved in viewing others :) thanks to all of you VIDEO MAKERS. Reallllllly helping me further my obsession

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the videos!! 🙂

[@maurengo]

Stella by starlight

[@josiah566]

I think my favorite has to be So What. It's minimalist structure is easy to move in different keys; I've had fun in jam sessions where we take the bridge to something super unrelated (we've done C Locrian once. Fun times).

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Modal improv can be a lot of fun. Thanks for your comment Josiah!

[@juanpablopedroza8279]

1. Round Midnight 2. Lullaby in Birdland 3. My Funny Valentine

[@JonathanMikulich]

Great stuff! I might also consider What Is This Thing Called Love / Hot House.

[@yessir4787]

My favorite song played by a jazz musician is Besame Mucho, Wes Montgomery. Awesome version if anybody is reading this comment and has not listened to the song yet check it out, you might enjoy. God bless my fellow Jazz musicians.🖖

[@noahk.3696]

you dont know what love is its such an intens and emotional song 😁

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Totally agree Noah, great tune!

[@pabloandres007]

Joy Spring!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Nice choice!

[@drlarryross]

Standards are the key to jazz; it is not about the 'quantity' of standards that you play, rather it is about the 'quality' with which you play your chosen standards. Some standards are 'burned out' because they are easy to play... Therefore, we should look deeper into the standards, and there are so many great standards THAT ARE NOT BEING PLAYED, like Passion Flower, Pristine, Polka Dot, and hundreds of others composed and played by the jazz musicians of yesteryear!

[@paulgibby6932]

Great choices (and reasons). It's impossible to limit to 10. But I think a whole sub-category would be Bossa Nova tunes like "Girl from Ipanema" and "Desafinado", because the harmonic movements are so subtle -- typically just a 1/2 step one way or another -- and consequently hard to remember and hard to solo over IMHO. Lots of people call "Girl" too. Your site and channel are great resources. Thanks so much for doing what you do.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Hey Paul, great insight! Actually, we did a podcast episode late last year that broke down 40 standards into groups like these. But of course, these are just scratching the surface: www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/ljs-podcast/learn-jazz-standards/ljs-84-important-jazz-standards-need-learn/

[@paulgibby6932]

Thanks! I didn't know about the podcasts, so will definitely check those out. More power to you!

[@joaopedrogoncalves6505]

I don’t know if this is a jazz standard but my favourite jazz song so far is Dinah. I heard it at the preservation hall at New Orleans and it just stuck

[@naturalmystique1237]

thanks. I guess Autumn Leaves . Especially the Ahmad Jamal variations

[@zachdorstad173]

I like "Solar" by Miles Davis

[@Timanator]

Great video, What kind of microphone are you using? Audio is superb.

[@GuitarMastaDave]

Peter Bernstein is my favorite!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Total master

[@RipzOnNubes]

No blues or rhythm changes? My all time fav is On Green Dolphin Street. Close #2 is Girl From Ipanema.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Not on this list, but blues and rhythm changes are definitely important. Thanks for sharing!

[@jakehoneywill1]

My favourite is Stardust (by a million miles)

[@SuperMartinWest]

Satin Doll, and Autumn Leaves

[@tomasojeda2525]

what about donna lee?

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Donna Lee is a good one Tomas!

[@josiah566]

Also I think you're missing a good blues and a good rhythm changes standard on here! Any one of them will do! The rhythm changes bridge especially, is pretty essential for anything swingish.

[@NikolaiMusicChannel]

Great list! But i think a 12-bar jazz blues tune and a rhythm changes tune really should be in one's master repertoire, as these also are played so much on both jam sessions and in all matter of jazz bands, and one should be really familiar with them :-)

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Fair critique Nikolai! Both of those are definitely important. Usually, when I talk about learning jazz in general, I separate the blues and rhythm changes as important song forms one should know, vs. standards, since there are so many melodies developed over those changes.

[@NikolaiMusicChannel]

​@@Learnjazzstandards Fair point! It would be a long list if one should list a jazz blues tune for each of the most important keys: C, Bb, F, Eb and G (are the most common I've encountered, not including minor blues). The Rhythm changes i mostly see in the key of Bb for some reason

[@jakemf1]

love the video-perhaps offer a discount to get some of the books -just a thought

[@Zoco101]

Jazz standards are learned for assorted reasons, and you should think what your reason/priority is before you tackle each new standard, since some are much more urgent than others, and some are too hard for now. Here are five reasons for learning a jazz standard:- * You'll look stupid if you don't know it very well. * It's an easy version (and a good example) of a common harmonic structure. * It's popular at jam sessions - helps you to network with other musicians * It's popular with the ordinary public - get's requested a lot * It will help you to advance and diversify Here are times when you shouldn't play a given standard:- * You're at a bar or party and the general public finds it boring - maybe too esoteric? * It's not exactly essential, and one of your musicians really hates it. * Your band has become stale on it. * You're at a festival or jazz club and the public is probably tired of that tune - maybe tired of all the standards! But standards are mainly a means to an end. Ideally, there comes a time when you branch away from the standards and play more unusual material, with interesting arrangements, and perhaps your own compositions too. I suggest these first ten tunes for all instrumental jazz musicians, regardless of what style interests them. They are not all ideal for jam sessions, but they are easy, and they provide a foundation in simple jazz structures. Some are tunes which every jazz musician absolutely must know if he is to show his face anywhere. It goes almost without saying that these tunes & chord sequences should be memorised:- When The Saints Go Marchin' In (F) C-Jam Blues (C or Bb) Ja Da (F) Autumn Leaves (Gm & maybe Em too) Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (Bb or C or Eb) Satin Doll (C) Sweet Georgia Brown (Ab) Blue Bossa (Bb) Rhythm Changes (Bb) I Can't Give You Anything But Love (F)

[@gil-evens]

Take the A Train is very fun to play with.

[@ShioriComeon]

hi, i like jazz standards. especially, i love east of the sun, beatrice, stablemates.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Love those tunes! Thanks for sharing.

[@chromosomalride8210]

Joy spring is mine, even if I can’t fully play it yet lol

[@1950francesca]

Body and Soul

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Great one Francesca!

[@alicialedesma3949]

It's not on the list but....TAKE FIVE

[@dgrjazz]

Stella

[@henryfornstonzu8451]

*Blues in the Closet* by Oscar Pettiford.

[@HerrSommerjunge]

When lights are low, Solar, You´d be so nice to come home to, Caravan

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Excellent choices! Thanks for sharing.

[@dexww378]

My favorite is Hocus Pocus by Lee Morgan

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Oh man, Hocus Pocus. Killer tune!

[@prothable]

Hey, really nice video! Really liked the tips and the logic of the list, very well explained and enlightening! My favorite standard is Take Five! I have one question though: what would be your recommend order to learn these standards in the guitar, in terms of difficulty, from the easiest to the most difficult? Thanks and keep on the good work!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Glad you enjoyed the video! It's hard to say if there is a specific order, but the way I listed them is roughly ordered on level of difficulty. So I know that's not a defined answer, but starting with the first three if you don't know them already would be a good start.

[@prothable]

Thanks for the answer! I didn’t expect a precise order, because as it’s stated on the video, it seems the kind of learning where one thing leads to another and some of them are learned intentionally and some others come as a, let’s say, “side effect consequence”... So if the list is already more or less ordered as well with this criterion, even better! Thanks again!

[@jazzerson7087]

Lush Life I reckon! Great choices for the top 10 and I agree though I always think Bluesette a key one for learning to solo over with so many changes.

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Both great tunes!