Trumpeter, bandleader and singer Louis Armstrong was a much-imitated innovator of early jazz.
Swing was also dance music. It was broadcast on the radio 'live' nightly across America for many years especially by Hines and his Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra broadcasting coast-to-coast from Chicago, well placed for 'live' time-zones. Although it was a collective sound, swing also offered individual musicians a chance to 'solo' and improvise melodic, thematic solos which could at times be very complex and 'important' music.
Over time, social structures regarding racial segregation began to relax in America: white bandleaders began to recruit black musicians and black bandleaders. In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman hired pianist Teddy Wilson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and guitarist Charlie Christian to join small groups. Kansas City Jazz in the 1930s as exemplified by tenor saxophonist Lester Young marked the transition from big bands to the bebop influence of the 1940s.
Outside of the United States the beginnings of a distinct European style of jazz emerged in France with the Quintette du Hot Club de France which began in 1934. Belgian guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt popularised gypsy jazz, a mix of 1930s American swing, French dance hall "musette" and Eastern European folk with a languid, seductive feel. The main instruments are steel stringed guitar, violin, and double bass. Solos pass from one player to another as the guitar and bass play the role of the rhythm section. Some music researchers hold that it was Philadelphia's Eddie Lang (guitar) and Joe Venuti (violin) who pioneered the gypsy jazz form,[1] which was brought to France after they had been heard live or on Okeh Records in the late 1920s.[2]
"Body and Soul"[5][6][7][8] is a song composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Frank Eyton, Edward Heyman and Robert Sour. The song was used in the successful Broadway revue Three's a Crowd and became an instant hit, despite being banned from the radio for almost a year for its sexually suggestive lyrics.[4] The first jazz recording was by Louis Armstrong in 1930. Coleman Hawkins's 1939 recording consisted of three minutes of improvisation over the song's chord progression with only passing references to the melody. Hawkins's rendition was the first purely jazz recording that became a commercial hit[9] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973.[10] The song is the most recorded jazz standard of all time.[4]
"But Not for Me"[11] is a song from the Broadway musical Girl Crazy, composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Ginger Rogers. The song failed to achieve significant pop success, charting only once in 1942. However, it became popular in the jazz world, especially for female vocalists.[12]
"Confessin'"[8][13] is a song composed by Ellis Reynolds and Doc Daugherty, with lyrics by Al Neiburg. Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1930, and Rudy Vallée and Guy Lombardo both made the charts with their versions the same year.[14] Saxophonist Lester Young recorded it several times during his career.[14] Country singer Frank Ifield had a number one hit with the song in the United Kingdom in 1963.[14] The song is also known as "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)".[14]
"Love for Sale"[11] is a song from the Broadway musical The New Yorkers, written by Cole Porter. Porter's prostitution-themed lyrics were considered bad taste at the time, and the song was banned from the radio. The ban, however, only increased the song's popularity.[23] Porter himself was actually pleased that it could not be sung over the air.[24] In the original musical the song was first sung by Kathryn Crawford and later by Elizabeth Welch.[23] The song took time to catch on as a jazz standard, possibly because it was 72 measures long. When Sidney Bechet recorded it in 1947, the song was not yet a regular jazz number.[23]
"On the Sunny Side of the Street"[8][11][35][36][37] is a song from the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue, composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Harry Richman sang it in the original revue.[38] Although the musical was a flop, "On the Sunny Side of the Street" became instantly popular. Richman and Ted Lewis charted with it in 1930,[38] and Louis Armstrong recorded his version in 1934. The song is readily associated with Armstrong today.[39]Tommy Dorsey and Jo Stafford both brought the song to the charts in 1945.[38] Jeremy Wilson of JazzStandards.com argues that the song may actually have been composed by Fats Waller, who then sold the rights for it.[38]
"All of Me"[8][11][40][41] is a song by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons. It was introduced on the radio by vaudeville performer Belle Baker. Baker also performed the song on stage in Detroit's Fisher Theatre, reportedly breaking into tears in mid-performance.[42] The first hit recording was made by Mildred Bailey with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, and by February 1932 both Louis Armstrong and Ben Selvin had risen to the charts with the song in addition to Whiteman.[42] The song was rarely performed after 1932 until Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1948 and performed it in the 1952 film Meet Danny Wilson.[42]
"I Surrender Dear" is a song from the film of the same name, composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford. Bing Crosby performed the song in the film, and his recording with the Gus Arnheim Orchestra became his first solo hit and helped him get a contract for his first radio show.[45] The first jazz vocalist to record the song was Louis Armstrong in 1931.[45]Thelonious Monk recorded it as the sole standard on his 1956 album Brilliant Corners.[45]
Virtuoso pianist Art Tatum mostly played Broadway and popular standards. He usually radically reworked the songs and had the ability to make standards sound like new compositions. Tatum's influential piano solos include "Tiger Rag", "Willow Weep for Me" and "Over the Rainbow".
"Blue Moon"[11][89] is a song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Originally named "Prayer" and meant for the musical film Hollywood Party, the lyrics were rewritten two times for Manhattan Melodrama; eventually it was sung by Shirley Ross as "The Bad in Every Man". The song was later released commercially as "Blue Moon", with yet another set of lyrics. The final version was disliked by Hart but eventually became his most popular song.[90] Apart from pop and jazz popularity, the song crossed over to rock and roll with the recordings by Elvis Presley and The Marcels.
"Solitude"[8][11][91][92] is a jazz song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. Irving Mills received co-credit for the lyrics as Ellington's agent. Ellington claimed to have composed the song in 20 minutes.[93] It is also known as "In My Solitude".
"In a Sentimental Mood"[8][11][103][104] is a jazz song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Manny Kurtz and Irving Mills. Ellington's biographer James Lincoln Collier argues that the melody was originally composed by Toby Hardwick.[105] The song is among Ellington's most popular compositions, and has been described "Simply the most beautiful song ever written" and "The perfect soundtrack for falling in love."[105]
"Nice Work If You Can Get It[8] was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the musical film A Damsel in Distress. It was introduced in the film by Fred Astaire and has been recorded many times by jazz singers and pianists.[141]
"Cherokee"[147][148] is a jazz song written by Ray Noble. Originally a part of a larger Indian Suite, it became a hit for Charlie Barnet in 1939 as an instrumental. Charlie Parker used the song's chord progression in his 1945 song "Ko-Ko".[149] The song is also known as "Indian Love Song".
"Love Is Here to Stay" is a song from the musical film The Goldwyn Follies, composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It gained little attention from The Goldwyn Follies and is better known for the 1952 film An American in Paris. It was the last song George Gershwin composed.[152] The song was originally titled "Our Love Is Here to Stay"; Ira Gershwin later said that he would have wanted to change the title back to the original one if the song hadn't already become popular under its new name.[153]
"All the Things You Are"[8][11][41][168] is a song from the Broadway musical Very Warm for May, composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Kern first felt the song, with its constantly shifting tonal centers, was too complex for mass appeal. However, it has enjoyed lasting popularity since then and is now one of the most recorded standards. It has been described as "the most perfectly constructed of all popular standards".[169] The song's chord progression has been used for such tunes as "Bird of Paradise" by Charlie Parker and "Prince Albert" by Kenny Dorham.
Moonlight Serenade was composed by Glenn Miller with lyrics added later by Mitchell Parish. The recording reached no. 3 on Billboard and was the no. 5 record on the 1939 Billboard year-end list of the top recordings of 1939.
"Over the Rainbow"[11][182] is a ballad from the film The Wizard of Oz, composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. Introduced by Judy Garland on screen, the song was an immediate hit: four different versions, including Garland's, rose to top ten within a month after the film's release. An influential piano solo recording was made by Art Tatum in 1955, and a live solo piano recording was released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 1996. The song is also known as "Somewhere over the Rainbow".[183]
"What's New?"[8][11][41][186] is a song composed by Bob Haggart with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was originally an instrumental titled "I'm Free", written when Haggart was playing in Bob Crosby's Orchestra. The song was introduced by Crosby, and other hit versions from 1939 include Bing Crosby's and Benny Goodman's renditions.[187] Australian singer Catherine O'Hara recorded the song in 1966 with her own lyrics, also titled "I'm Free".[187]
