most popular 5 jazz standards!

[varunkapahi]

i got my hands on a couple of real and fakebooks. i have never heard much jazz before let alone play any bit of it. so anyway i wanna start working on it now so please give me a list of the top 5 most played jazz standards to get me started. you know the most popular and played standards which will set me off in the right direction playing jazz

i have another question, am going to learn to play the melody and then see how the chords are working but how do i learn the bass parts? do you just improvise over the chords written and follow the music?

one more question, i noticed there are so many jazz fake books and then there are like 10 hal leonard real books. is any one version better than the others? should i get the bass cleff version or am ok with the treble cleff regular real book?

[longfinger]

- major blues
- minor blues
- rhythm changes (I Got Rhythm)

each one of those forms have hundreds of different melodies on top. If you know those 3 forms/chord progressions, then in a band context you can function in a simplified bass playing role over hundreds of tunes.

[BananaKing]

IME..... I've encountered these tunes more often than the others (based on memory):

- Green Dolphin Street
- So What
- Ornithology
- Autumn Leaves
- All the Things you Are

There are many more that I've played a lot, but those are the first 5 that come to mind when I think about what I've played the most (Excluding the very, very broad Rhythm Changes and Jazz Blues)

5 Tunes is a very short list.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by longfinger

- major blues
- minor blues
- rhythm changes (I Got Rhythm)

each one of those forms have hundreds of different melodies on top. If you know those 3 forms/chord progressions, then in a band context you can function in a simplified bass playing role over hundreds of tunes.

please explain that form part more. do you mean its a standard progression like the 12bar? how does it go?

Originally Posted by BananaKing

IME..... I've encountered these tunes more often than the others (based on memory):

- Green Dolphin Street
- So What
- Ornithology
- Autumn Leaves
- All the Things you Are

There are many more that I've played a lot, but those are the first 5 that come to mind when I think about what I've played the most (Excluding the very, very broad Rhythm Changes and Jazz Blues)

5 Tunes is a very short list.

i know 5 songs is a very short list but anything longer than that i will only get confused and lost while starting up. (edit: am dumb but i found in the real book now) also i couldnt find autmn leaves on any of the real books i have!

[tZer]

How High the Moon
Take 5
Girl From Ipanema
Well You Needn't
So What

Satin Doll
Take the 'A' Train
Bessie's Blues
A Night in Tunisia
In the Mood

[PaulNYC]

Autumn Leaves: http://www.wikifonia.org/node/106

[TheBasicBassist]

All The Things You Are
Autumn Leaves
Body and Soul
Summertime
Sweet Georgia Brown

For straight ahead jazz, not fusion or anything like that. IME.

[WormWoodSoup]

I'd say

blue bossa
oleo
st. thomas
giant steps
all the things you are

[PaulNYC]

I like to use treble clef versions in case I a playing with a friend who has a treble clef instrument.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by PaulNYC

Autumn Leaves: http://www.wikifonia.org/node/106

thank you!

[TheBasicBassist]

Originally Posted by WormWoodSoup

giant steps

I want to play at your jam session, sir.

[Mark Wilson]

Surprisingly, i've had Giant Steps called quite often...

i'd go with Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Donna Lee, all the things you are, and how high the moon.

if you wanna dip into Giant Steps, you'll be throwing yourself in the deep end. but hey, no better way to learn!

[varunkapahi]

so do you improvise over the chords written?

[Jon_West]

I'd say

All the Things You Are
Autumn Leaves
All Blues
You'd be so nice to come home to
Blue Bossa

[skwee]

Autumn Leaves
All Blues
Round Midnight
A Train
I got Rhythm (= every other jazz standard)

[dalkowski]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

so do you improvise over the chords written?

Precisely.

I gotta choose five?!?!?

Bluesette
The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers
I'll Remember April
Berk's Works
All Blues

[funkybassinator]

So What
Blue Bossa
Take Five
Well You Needn't
Inner Urge (?)

[PDK]

Hmm...
Billie's Bounce (blues)
Blue Bossa (latin)
My funny Valentine (ballad and yes I know it can be played up tempo)
Autumn Leaves(swing)
Take the A Train (swing)

These are just my picks.

[longfinger]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

please explain that form part more. do you mean its a standard progression like the 12bar? how does it go?

Yes. These are like prototype songs. There are dozens and dozens (hundreds) of songs with different names, and lyrics and melodies, that are simply variations on these basic forms. From a simplified bassists' point of view, Learn the one, and you learn the others. (sort of... as the spice that makes the others different are more in the melody and lyrics than in the bass.)

For blues there are variations in the turnarounds. In rhythm changes, there are variations in the cadences and the bridge patterns, but once you learn them, a lot falls in line.

for specific names..

-major blues
C Jam Blues , Tenor Madness, Straight no Chaser, Blue Monk, Blues By Five, and on and on and on

- minor blues
Birks Works, Mr. PC, Stolen Moments (for solos),

- rhythm Changes
I Got Rhythm, Lester Leaps In, Swedish Schnapps, Chasin The Bird, Oleo, I'm An Errand Girl For Rhythm, Anthropology, Jumping at The Woodside, Killing Jive and on and on...


other good tunes..
- Sweet Georgia Brown (Dig, Bright Mississippi)
- What Is This Thing Called Love? (Hot House)

They each raise harmonic "issues" to be learned. Turnarounds, descending dominants, minor tonics, ii-V in major or minor.


Other ways to mentally group songs are:
meter (4/4, 3/4, 2/4 etc.);
feel (swing 4's, swing 2s, brazilian latin, Caribbean latin, latin rock etc); and
tempo (slow, medium, fast)


Hmm. Good advice... I should do this!

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by longfinger

Yes. These are like prototype songs. There are dozens and dozens (hundreds) of songs with different names, and lyrics and melodies, that are simply variations on these basic forms. From a simplified bassists' point of view, Learn the one, and you learn the others. (sort of... as the spice that makes the others different are more in the melody and lyrics than in the bass.)

For blues there are variations in the turnarounds. In rhythm changes, there are variations in the cadences and the bridge patterns, but once you learn them, a lot falls in line.

for specific names..

-major blues
C Jam Blues , Tenor Madness, Straight no Chaser, Blue Monk, Blues By Five, and on and on and on

- minor blues
Birks Works, Mr. PC, Stolen Moments (for solos),

- rhythm Changes
I Got Rhythm, Lester Leaps In, Swedish Schnapps, Chasin The Bird, Oleo, I'm An Errand Girl For Rhythm, Anthropology, Jumping at The Woodside, Killing Jive and on and on...


other good tunes..
- Sweet Georgia Brown (Dig, Bright Mississippi)
- What Is This Thing Called Love? (Hot House)

They each raise harmonic "issues" to be learned. Turnarounds, descending dominants, minor tonics, ii-V in major or minor.


Other ways to mentally group songs are:
meter (4/4, 3/4, 2/4 etc.);
feel (swing 4's, swing 2s, brazilian latin, Caribbean latin, latin rock etc); and
tempo (slow, medium, fast)


Hmm. Good advice... I should do this!

thanks. time to work