Tuneage: Sample Jazz Standards Set List
The following are tunes I work on and aspire to achieve at least remedial proficiency. If this were a full time proposition, I'd likely have them all memorized but I have to confess to only having about a dozen down enough to read without a lead sheet. Still, it's a good idea to be prepared to "sit in" on a large minority of these. The list is by no means exclusive, merely what I've been exposed to by professionals in my region.
| Song |
Key |
Composer |
| All Blues |
G |
Davis |
| All The Things You Are |
Ab |
Hammerstein/Kern |
| A Child is Born |
Bb |
(Thad) Jones |
| All of Me |
C |
Simone/Marke |
| Angel Eyes |
Cm |
Dennis/Brent |
| As Time Goes By |
Eb |
Hupfold |
| Autumn in New York |
F |
Duke |
| Autumn Leaves |
G |
Mercer |
| Black Orpheus |
Am |
Bonfa |
| Blue Bossa |
Cm |
Durham |
| Bluesette |
Bb |
Thielemans |
| Body & Soul |
Bbm |
Green |
| Daphne |
D |
Reinhardt |
| But Beautiful |
G |
Van Heusun/Burke |
| Danse Nuptiale |
Bb |
Rienhardt |
| Darn Than Dream |
G |
Van Heusen |
| The Days of Wine & Roses |
F |
Mancini |
| Desafinado |
F |
Jobim |
| Dinette |
Ab |
Reinhardt |
| For Heaven's Sake |
F |
Meyer/Bretton/Edward |
| Don't Blame Me |
D |
Fields/McHuer |
| A Foggy Day |
F |
Gershwin |
| Footprints |
Cm |
Shorter |
| Four |
Eb |
Davis |
| Gentle Rain |
Am |
Bonfa |
| Giant Steps |
B |
Coltrane |
| The Girl From Impanema |
F |
Jobim |
| Green Dolphin St. |
C |
Kaper/Washington |
| ave You Met Miss Jones |
F |
Rogers & Hart |
| Here's That Rainy Day |
F |
Van Huesen |
| How High the Moon |
G |
Lewis |
| How Insensitive |
Dm |
Jobim |
| I Cant' Get Started |
C |
Duke |
| I Could Write a Book |
C |
Rodgers/Hart |
| In a Mellow Tone |
Ab |
Ellington |
| I'll Remember April |
G |
Raye/Johnstone |
| It Might as Well Be Spring |
G |
Rodgers/Hammerstein |
| In Your Own Sweet Way |
Bb |
Brubek |
| Joy Spring |
F |
Brown |
| Just Friends |
C |
Klemmer/Lewis |
| Lament |
F |
J.J. Johnson |
| Meditation |
C |
Jobim |
| Misty |
Eb |
Garner |
| The More I See You |
Eb |
Warren/Gergan |
| My Favorite Things |
Em |
Rodgers |
| My Foolish Heart |
Bb |
Washington/Young |
| My Funny Valentine |
Cm |
Rodgers/Hart |
| My Romance |
Bb |
Rodgers/Hart |
| Naima |
Ab |
Coltrane |
| Night and Day |
C |
Porter |
| The Night Has a Thousand Eyes |
G |
Weisman/Garrett/Wayne |
| A Night in Tunisia |
Dm |
Gillespie |
| Old Devil Moon |
F |
Harburg/Lane |
| Out of Nowhere |
G |
Green/Heyman |
| Quiet Now |
C |
Zeitlin |
| Recordame |
Am |
Henderson |
| Red Clay |
Gm |
Hubbard |
| Round Midnight |
Ebm |
Monk |
| Satin Doll |
C |
Ellington |
| Scotch & Soda |
Eb |
Guard |
| Scrapple from the Apple |
F |
Parker |
| Stolen Moments |
Gm |
Nelson |
| Oleo |
Bb |
Rollins |
| September Song |
D |
Anderson/Weill |
| Straight, No Chaser |
F |
Monk |
| The Shadow of Your Smile |
G |
Mandel |
| Someday My Prince Will Come |
Bb |
Churchill |
| Some Other Time |
C |
Bernstein/Comden/Green |
| The Song is You |
C |
Kern/Hammerstein |
| Spring is Here |
Ab |
Rodgers/Hart |
| Stella by Starlight |
Bb |
Young |
| Take the A Train |
C |
Ellington/Strayhorn |
| There is No Greater Love |
Bb |
Symes/Jones |
| There Will Never Be Another You |
Bb |
Warren/Gordon |
| Up Jumped Spring |
Bb |
Hubbard |
| Wave |
D |
Jobim |
| When I Fall in Love |
Eb |
Heyman/Young |
| When Sunny Gets Blue |
F |
Fisher/Segal |
| You Are Too Beautiful |
C |
Rodgers/Hart |
| Well You Needn't |
F |
Monk |
Here is a great resource for the "Vanilla" chords (before alterations & substitutions): Ralph Patt Website.
Click HERE for a leadsheet PDF of one of Ted's Original Tunes...
Okay, the list is certainly not complete; there are scores more great tunes out there. The above list doesn't include anything in the past three decades, for example. So, I'm curious... What tunes to you like/play?
Send me your additions to mandohack@aol.com!
Disclaimer: In the 'Information Age' of the 21st Century,
any fool with a computer, a modem, and an idea can
become a self-professed 'expert." This site does not
come equipped with 'discernment.'
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