Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"How Deep Is the Ocean?" was written in 1932 by Irving Berlin, who penned both the words and music. Composed during a difficult period of personal and professional struggle, the song was introduced on radio by Rudy Vallée and became a major hit, reviving Berlin's career during the Great Depression.

The song is a 32-bar AABA form, typically played in E♭ major. Its lyrics are strikingly unique — the entire song consists of rhetorical questions expressing the depth of the narrator's love. Harmonically, the tune begins in the relative minor and features a descending chromatic bass line that propels a series of modulating ii-V progressions, shifting tonal centers with sophistication and emotional intensity. This harmonic richness makes it a rewarding vehicle for improvisation, and it has been performed as a ballad, medium swing, and Latin arrangement alike.

Charlie Parker's 1947 recording with Miles Davis and J.J. Johnson is a landmark bebop interpretation. Ella Fitzgerald's version on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book (1958) stands as the definitive vocal rendition of this timeless standard.