Wikipedia:Today's featured list/January 10, 2025
Pre-1920 jazz standards are musical compositions written before 1920 that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. They are considered standards by at least one major fake book publication or reference work. From its conception at the change of the twentieth century, jazz was music intended for dancing. This influenced the choice of material played by early jazz groups: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings and others included many Tin Pan Alley popular songs in their repertoire, and record companies often used their power to dictate which songs were to be recorded by their artists. Certain songs were pushed by recording executives and therefore quickly achieved standard status; this started with the first jazz recordings in 1917, when the Original Dixieland Jass Band (pictured) recorded "Darktown Strutters' Ball" and "Indiana". The origins of jazz are in the musical traditions of early twentieth-century New Orleans, and some of the most popular early standards come from these influences. (Full list...)