Musicians who want to play jazz with other musicians are expected to know certain songs. Usually, the band leader "calls the tunes" on the spot, and everyone playing with the band is expected to know them.
How do jazz musicians do this? First, they all have a copy of The Real Book, Volumes 1-3 which provides the melody, chords and structure of the song. These Real Books are available from Amazon and most music stores.
Second, jazz musicians know which tunes are considered "standards" among other musicians.
Double click on the PDF file of "The New York Ninety" below. The New York Ninety was assembled by a gigging New York musician, and represents the repertoire every jazz musician should know. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file if you don't already have it. You can get it here.
