"Afternoon in Paris" is a jazz standard written by John Lewis, pianist of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and dates from 1949. It is an instrumental piece in 32-bar AABA form, usually played in C major. Several of its phrases shift their tonal centre to B-flat and A-flat, a harmonic feature that has drawn the attention of theorists and soloists alike. The original recording was made on 17 October 1949 in New York by the J.J. Johnson All Stars and issued in 1950 as a single coupled with "Cuddles", credited to the Stan Getz / Terry Gibbs New Jazz Stars. Later recordings include versions by Phineas Newborn (1956), John Lewis with Sacha Distel (Atlantic, 1957), Benny Golson and the Philadelphians (1958-59), Milt Jackson (1958), Sonny Rollins (1964) and a solo piano performance by John Lewis (1999). Vocal adaptations under other titles also exist, such as Zaz's "Paris, l'après-midi" (2014).
