Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

Vernon Duke composed this enduring standard in 1932, with lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, for the Broadway revue Walk a Little Faster. Written last-minute to accompany a Parisian stage set, the song was initially overlooked when singer Evelyn Hoey had laryngitis on opening night, but it soon took on a life of its own as one of the Great American Songbook's most romantic compositions.

The melody is harmonically and melodically idiosyncratic, marked by sudden key changes and unexpected turns. Composer Alec Wilder praised it as "a perfect theater song." The lyric paints a delicate portrait of springtime in Paris, and the tune is performed effectively across tempos, from intimate ballads to full swing.

The most famous recording belongs to the Count Basie Orchestra on the album April in Paris (1955), arranged by Wild Bill Davis. The performance's signature "fake-out" ending—with Basie calling "One more time!" and "One more once!"—became legendary, and Basie played the song virtually every night from 1955 until his death in 1984. The recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker with Strings and Thelonious Monk's solo piano version are also highly regarded.