Via NPR’s A Blog Supreme here is Jazz24.org’s list of top 100 jazz tunes, as suggested by their listeners. It’s not a bad place to start for beginners looking to get their repertoire together. There might be 10-15 of these I have never been called upon to play. Titles in bold are priority tunes for first year jazz students. Here’s the list:
1. Take Five – Dave Brubeck
2. So What – Miles Davis
3. Take The A Train – Duke Ellington
4. Round Midnight – Thelonious Monk
5. My Favorite Things – John Coltrane
6. A Love Supreme (Acknowledgment) – John Coltrane
7. All Blues – Miles Davis
8. Birdland – Weather Report
9. The Girl From Ipanema – Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
10. Sing, Sing, Sing – Benny Goodman
The rest are after the break:
11. Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday
12. A Night in Tunisia – Dizzy Gillespie
13. Giant Steps – John Coltrane
14. Blue Rondo a la Turk – Dave Brubeck
15. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat – Charles Mingus
16. Stolen Moments – Oliver Nelson
17. West End Blues – Louis Armstrong
18. God Bless The Child – Billie Holiday
19. Cantaloupe Island – Herbie Hancock
20. My Funny Valentine – Chet Baker
21. Body And Soul – Coleman Hawkins
22. Song For My Father – Horace Silver
23. Spain – Chick Corea
24. Blue In Green – Miles Davis
25. Naima – John Coltrane
26. Flamenco Sketches – Miles Davis
27. Waltz For Debby – Bill Evans
28. Autumn Leaves – Cannonball Adderley
29. St. Thomas – Sonny Rollins
30. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy – Cannonball Adderley
31. What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
32. Lush Life – John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman
33. Blue Train – John Coltrane
34. Poinciana – Ahmad Jamal
35. In a Sentimental Mood – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
36. Freddie Freeloader – Miles Davis
37. Summertime – Ella Fitzgerald
38. Watermelon Man – Herbie Hancock
39. Salt Peanuts – Dizzy Gillespie
40. Moanin’ – Art Blakey
41. Straight, No Chaser – Thelonious Monk
42. Good Morning Heartache – Billie Holiday
43. Mack the Knife – Ella Fitzgerald
44. In the Mood – Glenn Miller
45. Desafinado – Stan Getz
46. Cast Your Fate To The Wind – Vince Guaraldi
47. Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin
48. Blue Monk – Thelonious Monk
49. Caravan – Duke Ellington
50. Sidewinder – Lee Morgan
51. Django – Modern Jazz Quartet
52. Compared To What – Les McCann
53. Red Clay – Freddie Hubbard
54. Ruby, My Dear – Thelonious Monk
55. April in Paris – Count Basie
56. Bitches Brew – Miles Davis
57. Twisted – Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
58. Maiden Voyage – Herbie Hancock
59. Mood Indigo – Duke Ellington
60. St. Louis Blues – Louis Armstrong
61. Manteca – Dizzy Gillespie
62. How High The Moon – Ella Fitzgerald
63. At Last – Etta James
64. Fever – Peggy Lee
65. Satin Doll – Duke Ellington
66. Someday My Prince Will Come – Miles Davis
67. Autumn in New York – Billie Holiday
68. Epistrophy – Thelonious Monk
69. I Loves You Porgy – Nina Simone
70. It Don’t Mean A Thing – Duke Ellington
71. Koko – Charlie Parker
72. Milestones – Miles Davis
73. Misterioso – Thelonious Monk
74. Nuages – Django Reinhardt
75. Struttin’ with Some BBQ – Louis Armstrong
76. The In Crowd – Ramsey Lewis
77. Ain’t Misbehavin – Fats Waller
78. Bye Bye Blackbird – John Coltrane
79. On Green Dolphin Street – Miles Davis
80. Linus and Lucy – Vince Guaraldi
81. Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles
82. Joy Spring – Clifford Brown & Max Roach
83. One O’Clock Jump – Count Basie
84. Potato Head Blues – Louis Armstrong
85. Bumpin’ (On Sunset) – Wes Montgomery
86. Feeling Good – Nina Simone
87. Misty – Errol Garner
88. Moody’s Mood For Love – James Moody
89. Stardust – Louis Armstrong
90. Yardbird Suite – Charlie Parker
91. Diminuendo & Crescendo in Blue – Duke Ellington
92. Donna Lee – Charlie Parker
93. Water Boy – Don Shirley
94. Ornithology – Charlie Parker
95. Begin the Beguine – Artie Shaw
96. Ceora – Lee Morgan
97. Sophisticated Lady – Duke Ellington
98. Sugar – Stanley Turrentine
99. Footprints – Wayne Shorter
100. Four on Six – Wes Montgomery