The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire

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The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire
The Jazz Standards A Guide to the Repertoire.jpg
Cover
Author Ted Gioia
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Jazz
Genre Non-fiction
Encyclopedic
Reference
Publisher Oxford University Press
Publication date
27 September 2012
Pages544
ISBN 0199937397

The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire is a 2012 book by Ted Gioia documenting what he considers to be the most important tunes in the jazz repertoire. The book is published by Oxford University Press. [1] The book features a range of jazz standards in alphabetical order, [2] from Broadway show tunes by the likes of George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, to the standards of esteemed jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter and Charles Mingus. In the book Gioia has recommendations for definitive covers of each standard to listen to, over 2000 in total. [3] Each jazz standard entry in the book contains descriptive text and selected discography.

Contents

Background

Gioia states that he was inspired to write the book due to the difficulties he encountered as an aspiring jazz musician in his youth when he would turn up to jam sessions and feel embarrassed at not knowing the tunes and not having a list or some kind of reference he could use to learn to expected repertoire. He stated that: "I soon realized what countless other jazz musicians have no doubt also learned: in-depth study of the jazz repertoire is hardly a quaint historical sideline, but essential for survival. Not learning these songs puts a jazz player on a quick path to unemployment." Gioia's purpose for writing it was to provide a "type of survey, the kind of overview of the standard repertoire that I wished someone had given me back in the day—a guide that would have helped me as a musician, as a critic, as a historian, and simply as a fan and lover of the jazz idiom". [4]

Reviews

The Telegraph states that it is a "comprehensive guide to the most important jazz compositions, is a unique resource, a browser's companion, and an invaluable introduction to the art form", adding that "musicians who play these songs night after night now have a handy guide, outlining their history and significance and telling how they have been performed by different generations of jazz artists", [5] and is described as such on the Toronto Public Library website. [6] Clive Davis writing for The Independent noted that "Apart from his elegant prose style, the first thing you notice about Ted Gioia's approach to his subject is that the music clearly gives him no end of pleasure", and that the book contains numerous "witty" personal anecdotes of Gioia's experience of the tunes. He considers The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire a "bold attempt to summarise the core repertoire". [7] The London Review of Bookshops wrote that the book would "appeal to a wide audience, serving as a fascinating introduction for new fans, an invaluable and long-needed handbook for jazz lovers and musicians, and an indispensable reference for students and educators". [3] Dennis Drabelle of The Washington Post remarked that it was "hard to quarrel with Gioia’s seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of what is still hot or not" but was critical of some of his omissions of information, such as failing to mention that "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" was prominent in the Howard Hawks comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). [1]

Standards

The following standards are listed in the book:

  1. After You've Gone
  2. Ain't Misbehavin'
  3. Airegin
  4. Alfie
  5. All Blues
  6. All of Me
  7. All of You
  8. All the Things You Are
  9. Alone Together
  10. Angel Eyes
  11. April in Paris
  12. Autumn in New York
  13. Autumn Leaves
  14. Bags' Groove
  15. Basin Street Blues
  16. Beale Street Blues
  17. Bemsha Swing
  18. Billie's Bounce
  19. Blue Bossa
  20. Blue in Green
  21. Blue Monk
  22. Blue Moon
  23. Blue Skies
  24. Bluesette
  25. Body and Soul
  26. But Beautiful
  27. But Not For Me
  28. Bye Bye Blackbird
  29. C Jam Blues
  30. Cantaloupe Island
  31. Caravan
  32. Chelsea Bridge
  33. Cherokee
  34. A Child Is Born
  35. Come Rain or Come Shine
  36. Come Sunday
  37. Con Alma
  38. Confirmation
  39. Corcovado
  40. Cotton Tail
  41. Darn That Dream
  42. Days of Wine and Roses
  43. Desafinado
  44. Dinah
  45. Django
  46. Do Nothing till You Hear from Me
  47. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
  48. Donna Lee
  49. Don't Blame Me
  50. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  51. East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
  52. Easy Living
  53. Easy to Love
  54. Embraceable You
  55. Emily
  56. Epistrophy
  57. Everything Happens to Me
  58. Evidence
  59. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
  60. Exactly Like You
  61. Falling In Love With Love
  62. Fascinating Rhythm
  63. Fly Me to the Moon
  64. A Foggy Day
  65. Footprints
  66. Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You
  67. Georgia On My Mind
  68. Ghost of a Chance
  69. Giant Steps
  70. The Girl From Ipanema
  71. God Bless the Child
  72. Gone With the Wind
  73. Good Morning Heartache
  74. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
  75. Groovin' High
  76. Have You Met Miss Jones?
  77. Here's That Rainy Day
  78. Honeysuckle Rose
  79. Hot House
  80. How Deep Is The Ocean?
  81. How High The Moon
  82. How Insensitive
  83. How Long Has This Been Going On?
  84. I Can't Get Started
  85. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
  86. I Cover the Waterfront
  87. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
  88. I Fall In Love Too Easily
  89. I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
  90. I Got Rhythm
  91. I Hear a Rhapsody
  92. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
  93. I Love You
  94. I Mean You
  95. I Only Have Eyes For You
  96. I Remember Clifford
  97. I Should Care
  98. I Surrender, Dear
  99. I Thought About You
  100. I Want to Be Happy
  101. If You Could See Me Now
  102. I'll Remember April
  103. I'm in the Mood for Love
  104. Impressions
  105. In a Mellow Tone
  106. In a Sentimental Mood
  107. In Your Own Sweet Way
  108. Indiana
  109. Invitation
  110. It Could Happen to You
  111. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
  112. It Might as Well Be Spring
  113. I've Found a New Baby
  114. Jitterbug Waltz
  115. Joy Spring
  116. Just Friends
  117. Just One of Those Things
  118. Just You, Just Me
  119. King Porter Stomp
  120. Lady Bird
  121. The Lady Is a Tramp
  122. Lament
  123. Laura
  124. Lester Leaps In
  125. Like Someone in Love
  126. Limehouse Blues
  127. Liza
  128. Lonely Woman
  129. Love for Sale
  130. Lover
  131. Lover, Come Back to Me
  132. Lover Man
  133. Lullaby of Birdland
  134. Lush Life
  135. Mack the Knife
  136. Maiden Voyage
  137. The Man I Love
  138. Manhã de Carnaval
  139. Mean to Me
  140. Meditation
  141. Memories of You
  142. Milestones
  143. Misterioso
  144. Misty
  145. Moment's Notice
  146. Mood Indigo
  147. More Than You Know
  148. Muskrat Ramble
  149. My Favorite Things
  150. My Foolish Heart
  151. My Funny Valentine
  152. My Old Flame
  153. My One and Only Love
  154. My Romance
  155. Naima
  156. Nardis
  157. Nature Boy
  158. The Nearness of You
  159. Nice Work If You Can Get It
  160. Night and Day
  161. Night in Tunisia
  162. Night Train
  163. Now's the Time
  164. Nuages
  165. Oh, Lady Be Good!
  166. Old Folks
  167. Oleo
  168. On a Clear Day
  169. On Green Dolphin Street
  170. On the Sunny Side of the Street
  171. Once I Loved
  172. One Note Samba
  173. One o'Clock Jump
  174. Ornithology
  175. Our Love is Here to Stay
  176. Out of Nowhere
  177. Over the Rainbow
  178. Peace
  179. The Peacocks
  180. Pennies From Heaven
  181. Perdido
  182. Poinciana
  183. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
  184. Prelude to a Kiss
  185. Rhythm-a-ning
  186. 'Round Midnight
  187. Royal Garden Blues
  188. Ruby, My Dear
  189. St. James Infirmary
  190. St. Louis Blues
  191. St. Thomas
  192. Satin Doll
  193. Scrapple from the Apple
  194. Secret Love
  195. The Shadow of Your Smile
  196. Shine
  197. Skylark
  198. Smile
  199. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
  200. So What
  201. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
  202. Solar
  203. Solitude
  204. Someday My Prince Will Come
  205. Someone to Watch Over Me
  206. Song For My Father
  207. The Song Is You
  208. Sophisticated Lady
  209. Soul Eyes
  210. Speak Low
  211. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
  212. Spring Is Here
  213. Stardust
  214. Star Eyes
  215. Stella By Starlight
  216. Stolen Moments
  217. Stompin' at the Savoy
  218. Stormy Weather
  219. Straight No Chaser
  220. Struttin' with Some Barbecue
  221. Summertime
  222. Sweet Georgia Brown
  223. 'S Wonderful
  224. Take Five
  225. Take the A Train
  226. Tea For Two
  227. Tenderly
  228. There Is No Greater Love
  229. There Will Never Be Another You
  230. These Foolish Things
  231. They Can't Take That Away from Me
  232. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
  233. Tiger Rag
  234. Time After Time
  235. Tin Roof Blues
  236. The Very Thought of You
  237. Waltz For Debby
  238. Watermelon Man
  239. Wave
  240. The Way You Look Tonight
  241. Well, You Needn't
  242. What Is This Thing Called Love?
  243. What's New?
  244. When the Saints Go Marching In
  245. Whisper Not
  246. Willow Weep For Me
  247. Yardbird Suite
  248. Yesterdays
  249. You Don't Know What Love Is
  250. You Go To My Head
  251. You Stepped Out of a Dream
  252. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". The Washington Post . 17 August 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  2. Myler, Abraham (21 July 2014). "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". MusRef, BYU Library.
  3. 1 2 "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". London Review Bookshop. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  4. Gioia, Ted (25 June 2012). "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". All About Jazz. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  5. "The Jazz Standards : A Guide to the Repertoire". The Telegraph . Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  6. "The jazz standards : a guide to the repertoire". Toronto Public Library. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  7. Davis, Clive (24 October 2012). "The Jazz Standards: a Guide to the Repertoire, By Ted Gioia. Oxford, £25" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 24 January 2020.