[Western Jazz] A Special Feature on Standard Numbers You’ve Heard at Least Once

StardustNat King Cole

Stardust – Nat King Cole

If you spent your youth in the 1960s, you might remember The Peanuts singing it on the music show “Shabondama Holiday,” and if you came of age in the ’80s, perhaps you recall it as the song used in the commercial for Toyota’s first-generation Carina ED.

The world-famous jazz standard “Stardust” was composed in 1927 by American songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, known for pieces like “Georgia on My Mind,” and it was originally an instrumental.

A few years later, in 1929, lyricist Mitchell Parish added words to it, and in 1931 Bing Crosby’s rendition became a hit, bringing the song widespread recognition.

Since then, it has become a beloved classic performed by many jazz musicians, both as an instrumental and as a vocal number.

Among the versions especially well-known in Japan is Nat King Cole’s cover.

The commercial mentioned earlier also used Cole’s version, and even the great Hibari Misora featured “Stardust” as the opening track on her 1965 album “Hibari Sings Jazz — In Memory of Nat King Cole.” The lyrics, which seem to reminisce about a past romance, have a gently bittersweet touch—not exactly a sad song, but one that evokes sweet memories, which is a lovely mood indeed!

Summer TimeBillie Holiday

Billie Holiday – Summertime

George Gershwin, who worked across a wide range of genres—from opera and musicals to film scores, orchestral works, and concertos—was active in both popular and classical music and is even called a composer who helped create American music.

Among the many masterpieces he produced, let’s look at the timeless standard “Summertime,” a song that continues to be covered across all musical genres, not only jazz but also soul and pop.

Composed as an aria for the groundbreaking 1935 opera Porgy and Bess—remarkable at the time for its all-Black cast—the piece is sung by the heroine as a lullaby within the story.

Although it has inspired an enormous number of cover versions, the first to achieve widespread popular success is said to be the rendition sung in 1936 by the legendary female jazz singer Billie Holiday.

Among covers by white artists, the version performed by the equally legendary rock singer Janis Joplin is especially famous.

Despite being a song in which the lyrics play a crucial role, countless jazz musicians have also performed it as an instrumental, which shows how its universal, superb melody continues to captivate the hearts of musicians and listeners alike.

The Girl from IpanemaStan Getz & Joao Gilberto

“The Girl from Ipanema” Astrud Gilberto, João Gilberto and Stan Getz

Stan Getz, who created the monumental 1962 release Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd by bringing bossa nova elements into jazz and sparking the bossa nova boom in the United States.

In 1964, he released Getz/Gilberto in collaboration with renowned Brazilian bossa nova singer João Gilberto; it became a major hit and earned high acclaim, including a Grammy Award.

The Girl from Ipanema, included on Getz/Gilberto and sung by João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto, was also a hit single and is the most famous standard in the bossa nova genre, beloved by jazz musicians as well.

Composed in 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim, one of Brazil’s foremost composers, with original Portuguese lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes—a poet who was also a translator, diplomat, and journalist—the version of The Girl from Ipanema by the aforementioned Getz and Gilberto is said to be the most famous worldwide.

Many jazz artists have continued to cover the song since, so it’s highly recommended to check out the various versions!