Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Airegin" is a bebop tune composed by tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins in 1954. The title is "Nigeria" spelled backwards, inspired by a photograph of Nigerian dancers that struck Rollins.

The piece features an asymmetrical 36-bar ABAC form (A=8, B=12, A=8, C=8), typically played in A♭ major with a minor tonality (F minor). Its angular, up-tempo melody races through rapidly shifting key centers, demanding a high level of improvisational skill from soloists. The tune distills the essence of bebop and has become a proving ground for saxophonists and instrumentalists of all kinds.

The first recording was made in 1954 by the Miles Davis Quintet, featuring Rollins alongside Horace Silver, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke. Davis revisited the tune on his 1956 album Cookin', and Wes Montgomery delivered a landmark guitar version on his 1960 album The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery.