This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide. In this article, he shares 10 Jazz Standards You Must Know Before Going to a Jam Session.
There is a book called “JAZZ STANDARD BIBLE” which contains over 200 songs commonly played at jazz jam sessions. However, not every song in the book gets played at every session. Some songs come up far more often than others.
In this article, I’ll share 10 songs that — in my personal experience — come up most frequently at sessions, along with a short comment on each. All of these are great tunes, so I encourage you to search them up and have a listen.
Contents
10 Jazz Standards You Must Know Before Going to a Jam Session
- All The Things You Are — A song with many key changes. It has a well-known intro and is longer than most standards, so it takes a while to memorize at first.
- But Not For Me — Known for its catchy, memorable melody.
- The Days Of Wine And Roses — A classic standard. Often called “Sake Bara” (酒バラ) in Japan, meaning “Wine and Roses.”
- I’ll Close My Eyes — A slightly melancholic melody. Someone almost always plays this at the beginning of a session.
- It Could Happen To You — Features a distinctive chromatic chord progression right from the start.
- Just Friends — Notable for the progression shifting from B♭ major to B♭ minor early in the tune.
- On Green Dolphin Street — Unique in that the A section is played in a Latin feel, while the B section switches to swing.
- Softly As In A Morning Sunrise — A tune where bassists are often asked to play the intro.
- Stella By Starlight — A beautiful, emotional melody. The chord changes were confusing to me at first.
- There Will Never Be Another You — Another tune that gets played early in sessions. The melody is easy to remember.
None of these songs are widely known among non-musicians, and honestly, I didn’t know any of them before I started going to jam sessions myself.
Once I started going regularly, though, I found these tunes being played at virtually every session I attended. They are truly the staples of the jazz session repertoire. If you’re looking to make your session debut, these are the songs to start with!
Related Video
Here is a video of 10 jazz standard bass lines played with sheet music. The songs are a bit different from the ones listed above, but if you want to learn how to play walking bass lines over jazz standards, check it out.
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