Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Basin Street Blues" is a jazz standard written by Spencer Williams (1889–1965), a New Orleans-born songwriter, in 1928. The title refers to Basin Street, the main thoroughfare of Storyville—New Orleans' famed red-light district and a cradle of early jazz. The song evokes the spirit of the city's vibrant musical heritage.

The chorus follows a 32-bar AABA form, typically played in C major. The A sections feature a descending blues-scale motif that blends major tonality with characteristic blue notes on the flatted third and seventh, creating a nostalgic, soulful atmosphere. A well-known verse section—beginning "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi…"—was later added by Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden, and has become an inseparable part of the tune's identity. The song adapts easily to Dixieland ensemble playing, solo piano, big band, and modern jazz trio formats alike.

The earliest landmark recording is Louis Armstrong's 1928 version, which helped establish the song as a standard. Trombonist Jack Teagarden made the tune a personal signature throughout his career, and Ella Fitzgerald's vocal rendition remains another beloved interpretation.