Introduction! A collection of recommended masterpieces and standard numbers for jazz beginners

Sleeping Dancer Sleep OnArt Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers “Sleeping Dancer Sleep On”

Included on the 1966 album Like Someone In Love.

Lee Morgan’s trumpet is sheer genius.

Wayne Shorter’s saxophone is serene and beautiful.

Bobby Timmons’s piano has a delicate, ephemeral touch.

You can sense each member cherishing the melody and playing with sincerity.

Without a deep love for the piece, you couldn’t deliver performances like these.

I Get a Kick Out of YouDinah Washington

Dinah Washington – I Get A Kick Out Of You (1955)

This song was written by Cole Porter as a number in the Broadway musical Anything Goes, which premiered in 1934.

Cole Porter is famous for having written many songs for musicals and films that have come to be loved as standards.

This particular song is characteristically his, with a relatively long single chorus, and has been cherished mainly by vocalists such as Frank Sinatra.

In Japan, it is also known by the title “Kimi ni Koso Kokoro Tokimeku.”

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Work SongCannonball Adderley Quintet

Work Song (Remastered 2000)

Composed by Nat Adderley and released in 1960, this piece may be familiar to many in Japan, as it was also used in a commercial for an energy drink.

In terms of jazz subgenres, it is classified as funky jazz, and lyrics were later added.

The lyrics depict a prisoner lamenting the hardships of a severe prison sentence.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (2010 Remastered Version)THE PLATTERS

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Re-Recorded / Remastered)

Jerome Kern, who left behind many wonderful jazz standards, wrote this song in 1933 for the musical Roberta.

The first recording was released the same year by Gertrude Niesen, but it’s probably better known through Nat King Cole’s version and the Platters’ 1956 release, which became a major revival hit.

It has also been sung by many other artists.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Begin the BeguineArtie Shaw

Begin The Beguine

Here is one of the songs composed by Cole Porter, who created jazz standards that have endured through the ages.

It was performed in the 1935 musical Jubilee.

Its stylish title suggests starting a Latin dance called the beguine, and the piece is notable for Porter’s characteristically extended, twist-filled musical ideas.

In Japan, it became a hit when sung by Koshiji Fubuki, a chanson singer and former top star in the Takarazuka Revue’s male-role troupe.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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CountdownJohn Coltrane

John Coltrane – Countdown

Known as a jazz standard, this piece is characterized by its complex chord progression and fast tempo.

Included on the album “Giant Steps,” released in May 1960, it had a profound impact on the jazz world.

Showcasing John Coltrane’s exceptional improvisational skills to the fullest, the work remains a staple of the jazz repertoire and is beloved by many musicians today.

It is also an important work for students studying jazz theory and improvisation.

Highly recommended for those interested in jazz or looking to explore new music, this track offers a full taste of the tenor saxophone’s appeal and provides a compelling entry point into the world of jazz.

You don’t know what love isSonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins – You Don’t Know What Love Is (1956)

Recorded in ’56 on Saxophone Colossus.

I get completely intoxicated by this rich, mellow tone.

You can also sense a manly spirit in Rollins’s playing.

Though this standard has countless great performances, I’d also recommend Eric Dolphy’s rendition.

In any case, it’s a beautiful, deeply expressive piece.