Best Minor Jazz Standards

[goldenwave77]

I've been working my way through Joe Elliott's "Introduction to Jazz Guitar Soloing Book" and my approach has been to work on the arpeggio patterns, then to find good tunes, to practice them against. (I think Joe P's advice to "work on tunes" is powerful advice...the contextual aspect of learning, and applying some theory is beneficial, I find.)


Starting to focus on minor tunes, and sounds. Looked at the usual song lists, and was struck by how few of them are really minor in tonality, (as opposed to major keys or blues-y tunes). So I listed some good minor practice tunes. Off the top of my head I came up with the following:


1. Night in Tunisia 2. Nature Boy 3. My Heart Belongs to Daddy 4. Minor Swing 5. Caravan 6. Angel Eyes 7. Harlem Nocturne 8. Get Out of Town 9. Love for Sale and 10. Summertime.


This is more than enough to keep me busy for a while, but if anyone has some other recommendations, I'd be curious, and grateful.

[jasaco]

How about:

Autumn Leaves
Softly As In a Morning Sunrise
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to

[goldenwave77]

How could I forget "Autumn Leaves"----my basic "go to" jazz tune which I use as a foundation to learn different techniques?....e.g. I used to start in on chord melody, and will also use it for reharmonization study, once I get through absorbing the Conti materials on them....in fact my neighbors probably hate hearing it, by now...

"Softly..." is a great tune..before long I'm thinking Johnny Smith and the Ventures "Walk Don't' Run" which have the same chord progression, I believe.

Thanks.

[monk]

Alone Together
Blues Skies
How Deep Is The Ocean
You and the Night and the Music
Song for my Father
Cry Me a River

[jasaco]

Blue Bossa
Black Orpheus
Mr. P.C.

[MarkRhodes]

How could I forget "Autumn Leaves"----my basic "go to" jazz tune which I use as a foundation to learn different techniques?...

That's the tune I use for the first Major and minor situations in Elliott's book, "Introduction to Jazz Guitar Soloing."

I use the patterns of the first situations, moving everything up two frets up from F to G.

[MattC]

Surprised no one mentioned "Yesterdays."

Two nice Wes tunes are "Four on Six" and "Road Song"

And then there are some tunes that kind of dance around different minor and major keys, like "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Solar" and "Jordu."

[henryrobinett]

Soul Eyes. Django. Airegin.

[henryrobinett]

Beautiful Love. Foot Prints. Invitation, Quiet Nights, Speak Low. Along Came Betty, Whisper Not.

[Petimar]

+1 Whisper Not

Delilah (Clifford)
Cheesecake (Dexter)
Bock to Bock (Wes)

[henryrobinett]

How Insensitive.

[jasaco]

Little Sunflower
Recordame

[henryrobinett]

Simone

[henryrobinett]

Reincarnation of a Lovebird, Tin Tin Deo.

[0zoro]

Doesn´t Round Midnight get a mention+

[pubylakeg]

Lullaby of The Leaves
You Don't Know What Love Is
Bebop
Segment/Diverse

[monk]

Comin' Home Baby

[Larry Feldman]

So What

[BCPete]

Minor is the best...Body and Soul.

[monk]

Minor is the best...Body and Soul.

Body and Soul isn't in a minor key.

It begins in Db major, modulates up a half step to D major, down a whole step to C and then up a half step to Db major.

[BCPete]

Body and Soul isn't in a minor key.

It begins in Db major, modulates up a half step to D major, down a whole step to C and then up a half step to Db major.

The melody and harmony begin very strongly in Eb minor, then modulates to Db major, then modulates to Bb minor, then back to Db. There are many such tunes, which pass through several keys. To me, it's a minor tune. Cheers.

[monk]

The melody and harmony begin very strongly in Eb minor, then modulates to Db major, then modulates to Bb minor, then back to Db. There are many such tunes, which pass through several keys. To me, it's a minor tune. Cheers.

1. The key signature is 5 flats. That's Db major.

2. The first four measures are a iim7-V7-I in Db major. Then iim7-V7-III7-vim7-iim7-V7, all in Db major.

3. The only modulations are to D for first four bars in the bridge, to C for the second four bars of the bridge then back to Db for the last eight bars.

[Flyin' Brian]

Stolen Moments

[BCPete]

1. The key signature is 5 flats. That's Db major.

2. The first four measures are a iim7-V7-I in Db major. Then iim7-V7-III7-vim7-iim7-V7, all in Db major.

3. The only modulations are to D for first four bars in the bridge, to C for the second four bars of the bridge then back to Db for the last eight bars.

1. Key signature doesn't always tell us the actual tonality.

2. This kind of analysis is highly subjective. To me, the key of the moment at the beginning is obviously Eb minor.

3. It does end in Db, but there is a long journey before it reaches there.

Thanks for the discussion. Cheers.

[jasaco]

Here's a novel thought: agree to disagree and move on. Think of it whichever way helps you to play it better. The key signature is, at best, a very general descriptor of the music, it is not the music itself. Of course, you knew that...