This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide.
Today’s topic is: 10 songs you absolutely need to know before you go to a jazz session.
Many of you are probably familiar with the famous Japanese fake-book “JAZZ STANDARD BIBLE,” which collects over 200 songs commonly played at jam sessions.
Not every one of those 200 songs gets played at every session, though. Within that book, there’s a smaller core set of tunes that come up again and again.
This time, based purely on my own experience, here are 10 songs I personally find come up the most often at sessions, each with a quick comment.
They’re all great tunes, so I’d encourage you to look them up and give them a listen.
Contents
10 Songs You Absolutely Need to Know Before Going to a Jazz Session
・All The Things You Are
A tune with frequent key changes. Between the signature intro and its unusually long form, it took me a while to get comfortable with it when I was starting out.
・But Not For Me
Known for its catchy, memorable melody.
・The Days Of Wine And Roses
A jam-session staple that comes up constantly.
・I’ll Close My Eyes
A slightly wistful melody. Someone always seems to call this one early in a session.
・It Could Happen To You
Known for its chromatic chord movement right from the start.
・Just Friends
Notable for shifting from B♭ major to B♭ minor early in the form.
・On Green Dolphin Street
Distinctive for its rhythmic shift — the A section has a Latin feel, while the B section swings.
・Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
The tune where someone always says, “Hey, can you start the intro on bass?”
・Stella By Starlight
A beautifully emotional melody, but the chord changes made absolutely no sense to me when I first encountered them.
・There Will Never Be Another You
Another one that almost always gets called early in a session. The melody is easy to pick up.
None of these are tunes that non-musicians would generally recognize.
Honestly, I didn’t know a single one of these songs before I started going to jam sessions myself. But this year, especially from autumn onward, I went to a lot of sessions around Sapporo, and these same songs came up at pretty much every single venue.
I’d guess these are pretty much universal standards across jam sessions everywhere.
If you’re thinking about going to your first session, definitely check these out.
A Video Worth Watching Alongside This
I put together a video playing through 10 classic jazz standards, complete with sheet music.
Many of the songs are different from the ones listed above, but if you want to start working on your walking bass, it’s worth checking out too.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.