You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - 17 Standards Every Jazz Player Should Know - #22

Episode Date: February 21, 2018

Peter and Adam discuss 17 essential standards that every jazz musician should know. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm Peter Martin and I'm Adam Manus. Welcome to the You'll Hear It podcast. Today we're going to talk about 17 standards every jazz player should know. And that's it, right? We just learned 17 and we're done. 17 and you're done. Then you're a jazz player. Jazz is so easy in our introductions. Absolutely. Okay. Yes, in reality, it would behoove you to learn a few more than these 17th.

But we're going to do 17 because we love in the 17, 27, 27. Well, why don't we give them 27? Wouldn't it be 10 better? And then we'd be here all day. We couldn't do that. Okay. But these are good. Actually, these 17 are ones that you definitely don't want to be called out on not knowing if they get called. Absolutely.

Yeah, I mean, these, you have to know these. Totally. And there's really a bunch more that you have to. But one thing I would just say to you, it is something that one of the few things that I, organizationally, that I really did well when I was young. And that was, I always kept a little log, a little book of tunes that I needed to learn. And sometimes it's just as simple as that. Just a little catalog, ones that I knew and ones that I knew.

and ones that I needed to learn. And when I went to a gig or a jam session or even read something or heard an interview when someone would drop a tune, I was like, ugh, I guess I got to know that one. And you can't learn them and you shouldn't learn them all in one day or one week or even one month

because you want to learn these deeply. We talk about that all the time. Yep. But these are definitely ones you're going to want to get together before you're getting a website saying, hey, I'm a jazz musician, you know, or business cards

printed up as a jazz player. You better know these sevens. You have to. I think the business card company should quiz you about this before you put jazz musicians on your card. Okay, so I'm going to kick it off with one that if you're on the gig and somebody calls it and you didn't know it, you might be physically hurt by some of the other musicians or some of the people in the audience or just some random seven-year-old kid walking along. I would authorize that

kind of damage to you no matter what. We joke about the jazz police, but I might deputize myself if someone didn't know this one. Okay, this is take the a train. So this is a universally loved and somewhat scorn tune at this point because it's so well known. But it's such a classic Duke Ellington. Oh man, it's so swinging. It's such a standard. People love it. People know it even when they don't know that they know it. People love it even when they think they hate jazz. And so you just got to know it.

The second tune is Satin Doll, another classic. Another one that, I mean, go back to the original source of this and listen to some early recordings of it. It is so swinging and it's such a cool tune. I love the harmonic concept of it and it's a really good tune to learn how to solo over. Yeah, yeah. Okay, we're gonna kind of,

I don't know, we were talking about going in chronological order, but maybe we'll jump around a little bit just as we're thinking about these, but next I'm gonna say, I've got rhythm by the Gershwin's, and this one I think is so important because it covers like a hundred different tunes,

right, because of the form of it. Exactly, yeah. There's, of course, you know, the classic melody, which you should always know. I always say, like, how do you know 10, I got rhythm change?

changes tunes, but you don't actually know I got rhythm, where the form is actually a little different. There's that tag. There's the tag on, so I see a lot of players kind of messing that up, so that's definitely one to know. Our next tune is the first ballad that makes our famous list of 17 standards. Every jazz player should know. I like it how they have to make our list. We're very judgmental, aren't we? Oh, yeah, yeah.

Exclusive club. It's all about us and what we're going to put on other people. This is the classic ballad body and soul. You know, it's going to be called at almost every jam session you go to. It should be one of the first ballads you learn, if not the very first. Yeah. Next, since we're talking ballads that you've got to know, and this one's called a lot in several different styles,

and that's My Funny Valentine. Oh, yeah. Especially for this time of year, kind of Valentine's Day. We're in February now. That's, you know, if you want to do a gig in the middle weeks of February, you better know that tune. Absolutely. And now we're going to go to Jam Session Favorite Stella by Starlight.

This is great because there's like all these secondary dominant. that really, you know, for a beginning player, can be very tricky. You know, a lot of half-diminish chords that go nowhere. It's really, really, I mean, it's kind of a deep tune, actually, when you break it down. But, yeah, definitely get some Stella by Starlight going first. Okay, cool. Well, since we're still in the ballot kind of situation, I would say I'm going to throw another Gershwin in there, and that's Embraceable You.

Beautiful tune. Yeah. Now, to be honest, is this in the top 17 standards that you have to know if you only learn 17? Probably not. It's in Peter's top. I mean, I love the tune so much, so I'm personalizing a little bit. But it's certainly in the top 117 that you should know. You know, easily in the top, like, 57, for sure.

Right, right. Our next tune is the amazing C-JAM blues. Oh, of course. It's like a great piece of minimalist art. It's like a perfect representation of swing and the blues. It's essential. Yeah, absolutely. We should have had that first, but we're not going in order of importance.

We're going in order of what we want. Next, let's do on Green Dolphin Street. Now, this talk about jam session called a lot. I mean, this for sure is like you've got to know it. There's some great different versions, reference things. But this is another one that's like, it's probably more of like a player's standard than an audience standard. Although people know it and like it. But it's like players love to call this at certain levels.

And if you really want to throw them off at a jam session, do the A section Latin and do the B section swing. Everybody's going to lose their mind on that one. Mind blown. Speaking of Latin, we'll. We're going to continue on with Dizzy Gillespie's classic A Night in Tunisia. This is an amazing tune. Make sure to learn from the original recordings. You can learn it with that great interlude and also, you know, transcribe Dizzy's solo on this.

It's like so much good stuff for this, too. Yeah, now I've just, I got a little bone to pick with you, though, in terms of Latin. Isn't Tunisia technically more part of North Africa than it is Latin America? Don't take that up with me. Take it up a Diz. That's all right. Okay, next. Okay, since we're talking jam session.

there is no greater love or no greater love what is it called I think I've blocked this one out okay yeah now this we're getting into the first tune that I'm gonna kind of admit I don't really like actually but we've got to put some stuff I mean I shouldn't say I don't really like it I just don't think it should be as high up on the list of a standard that you have to know but this is we're talking about 17 standards every jazz player should know and so you got to put it in there it's one of these like on your first jazz piano lesson this is probably what one of the tunes your teacher is gonna give you to learn you know you're

Right. It's not one of my favorites either. I can't really think of a good recording of it that I like. You know what I mean? There's no... But I mean, is there any more commonly called tune at a jam session? I can't imagine. Yeah. Okay. Oh, this next one is Misty. Now, this was like one of the most famous tunes in the world for a few decades. It was really, really popular. And it will also get called a lot of jam sessions. It's a great ballad. It's actually a profoundly beautiful tune. It's really well-written. It's so well-crafted. The lyrics are gorgeous. I like to play this song.

Yeah, I do too. And I think, yeah, if you talk about the lyrics really, I mean, we've had some great lyrical lyrics in some of these tunes, but I mean, Missy one that really is integral to it and completes the tune is great. Well, okay, so another ballad along those lines, and I'm going to be a little controversial here, and I'm going to say Skylark. Because, again, I'm kind of falling off the reservation here

and saying it's one of the top 17. That's a hipster 17. It is a kind of hipster, but hey, I like it. I think it's a great tune. and your street credit will go up a little bit if you know this and you'll just learn a lot from that kind of I'm gonna go with another jam session favorite and and this is kind of I feel like it's a very modern jam session to all the things you are it's it's so malleable as a form and just the cycle of force it's a great tune I have played this song a thousand times I'm sure and I still love playing I love I love practicing new ideas over it it gets it gets me through a lot

I love all the things yeah I mean truly a standard if they're ever Absolutely. I mean, I got to remember. We're calling 17 standards every jazz player should know. We didn't say the top 17 standards, but we said these are ones that everyone should know.

And for sure, that's top of the list. So close up there, you should know for sure. And another great tune is Autumn Leaves. Called a lot, recognized a lot, great standard, truly a tune that, I mean, the lyrics are cool on it and stuff,

but I mean, really one that instrumentally has gone a lot of different places, a lot of different great players and styles. and you've got to know it. Yeah, especially if you're working on, you know, the difference between major 251s and minor 251s. It's a great way to kind of get those things in your fingers.

Go through all 12 keys. Yep. We're going to start rounding out our list here with Philonious Monk's classic Blue Monk. This is the, I believe, the second or third, second blues on our list of 17? It doesn't matter. You've forgotten all the other ones. Yeah, we had C Jam, I think.

C Jam, right. So this is equally as a standard on jam sessions. It's a very simple. melody and I encourage you to learn the melody as monk played it because it's so swinging and soulful and it really is a testament to the power of the blues in jazz. Yeah and I would say that really you know we talked about whether or not we were going to include you know things that maybe some people could say aren't standards because we're not saying jazz standards we're saying standards yeah but I mean I really

think that and blue monk and stuff should be in there and in fact because this is number 17 our final one I'm gonna throw a little bit of a curveball again a little bit regional for us here. Hey, where are we at now? Where we at? The classic WC. Handy St. Louis Blues. Representing. Yeah, so we're going to fill that in there. And, you know, that it's just a great tune. A lot of the origins of this music, you know, spring forth from that. There's a big connection, you know, with the New Orleans players in that song and St. Louis and the Mississippi River. So you got to know it. Actually, you know, regional pride aside, it is a really,

really fantastic tune and it is a essential standard, no doubt. Absolutely. So make sure you learn all these standards and you'll hear it. That's it for today's episode of the You'll Hear It Podcast. For more information or to hear more of these podcasts, go to openstudionetwork.com slash podcast.