As in any art, jazz has its own masterpieces that influenced the development of culture and are known to this day. Such compositions are usually called jazz standards - any musician who calls himself a jazzman must know them.
Jingle bells
The most popular Christmas composition was written in the middle of the 19th century, when jazz did not exist at all, and the song itself was not very popular. Its author is James Lord Pierpont. Initially, the work was called The One Horse Open Sleigh, which translates as "One-horse open sleigh."
Jingle Bells gained interest in the 20th century, and by 2008 it was translated into 12 languages of the world. The songwriter was inducted into the Composers' Hall of Fame. At one time, the composition was performed by such famous jazzmen as Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington.
Let It Snow
Another popular Christmas song, but written during the heyday of jazz music. Let It Snow! Despite its winter theme, it was written on a very hot summer day in 1945.
The composition has more than 20 covered versions, the most famous of which belongs to Frank Sinatra. This cover has been sold 25 million times through the Apple online store.
Summertime
This jazz composition is nothing more than an aria to the opera Porgy and Bess. The author of the aria, George Gershwinn, wrote it in 1935, using African American motives in the work.
Summertime was hugely popular in the 20th century. The composition managed to surpass even the famous Beatles song Yesterday in the number of performances. The opera itself, in which the aria is heard 4 times, has rather big box office receipts today.
Caravan
Another jazz standard of the 30s is the composition Caravan, the main performer of which is Duke Ellington to this day. The melody of the composition has a pronounced oriental motive.
Caravan was quite popular and was repeatedly sung by other artists, including Ella Fitzgerald. Today the composition is a classic of the genre.
The song can be heard in the famous films of Woody Allen and Steven Soderbergh, as well as in the Soviet cartoon "Just You Wait!"
What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong's jazz composition What a Wonderful World today is perhaps the most popular among both contemporary performers and listeners.
The famous song was written in the 60s by George David Weiss, and, initially, the well-known jazzman Tony Bennett was offered to perform the future hit, but he refused. Then Armstrong got down to work.
Compared to the compositions of Louis Armstrong already known at that time, What a Wonderful World did not bring much success. However, after the release of the film "Good Morning Vietnam", where the composition acted as a contrast to the terrible events of the war, the song gained its well-deserved popularity. In 1999, What a Wonderful World was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
