Jazz Standards

I don't collect recordings of jazz standards in that way. But one can't help noticing that certain songs have been highly popular with, and often recorded by, jazz artists. "Round Midnight" is one. Others are "Love for Sale," "Yesterdays," "Autumn leaves," and so on.

Which raises an interesting question. What qualities or attributes make a song attractive as a vehicle for jazz interpretation?

Hi all,
Jazz standards become so for two reasons, really. The first is that the melody itself is popular and memorable, having "timeless" qualities. But the second reason is more important! The harmonic progression (chord progression) provides a lot of opportunity for inventive improvisation! This makes standards of songs that might not be standards for singers, who look more for what they can do with a good lyric.
Mick.

Love this thread. I keep lists in my head of all the artists I know who have done a standard, and also what might be my favorite of the moment.

I'm always impressed when a vocalist can interpret a classic in a way that makes it seem fresh, and kinda fascinated when someone bulldozes something lyrically that has real weight and strips it of it's nuance and meaning. That's probably where that hazy line between stylist and artist exists. 

Blossom Dearie is one of those vocalists who can take a song that seems almost invisible to me and turn it into something interesting. Surrey with the Fringe on Top is a good example. She slows the delivery down in such a way that it hit me what the tune was about—a slow seduction and the desire for privacy in a pre-automobile era. 

Anyway, so many examples, and so many tunes I came to as an instrumental only to later learn the words.