Jazz standard
Widely known piece of the jazz repertoire often used as a basis for improvisation.
What it means
A jazz standard is a widely known piece from the jazz repertoire, played by many musicians and used as a basis for improvisation. A standard usually consists of a melody and a chord progression that serve as a common foundation, while performers interpret melody and harmony individually.
Musical use
Many jazz standards originally come from musicals and films of the early 20th century, the so-called Great American Songbook, for instance pieces by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, or Jerome Kern. Others arose directly in jazz, such as compositions by Duke Ellington or Thelonious Monk. Since the basic structure is known, musicians who do not know each other beforehand can play and improvise on a standard together, which makes it a shared language of jazz.
A jazz standard should be distinguished from an original composition, which is not established common property, and from a mere song title, since only regular performance by many musicians over decades turns a piece into a standard. It differs from the II–V–I cadence, which is only a harmonic building block occurring in many standards.
Performance practice
Learn a jazz standard first with melody and basic chords by heart before improvising. Listen to several interpretations of the same standard to experience how differently musicians can handle the same foundation.