Jazz lovers are in for a treat today, as we are listing the most popular jazz songs of all time. A lot of people may agree that jazz might be somewhat of an acquired taste. But, once you’ve got the taste, it’s hard to ignore and move away from it. And, we are attempting to point you to the quintessential tracks that have been exemplary to the genre over the years.
Now, unlike other genres, jazz can be as complex or as simple as you’d like it to be. It’s the free flowing and improvisation driven music of freedom. It might have been the brainchild of African-American communities in the early 20th century before finding its home in dingy alleyways and secret quaint pubs frequented by jazz listeners. Because as the inside joke goes – a jazz player plays a thousand chords into an audience of a four people. But those four people might be the most informed audience any music genre has ever encountered. And, over the glorious years of its humble existence, some songs have just shone brighter than the others. Some attained the “Standard” status. While others have been immortalized by legendary artists!It’s true that the genre might not be exactly radio friendly or something that we’d unanimously break into a jig to at concerts like we do for the 10 Most Popular Songs of All Time. But, it is also undeniable that most of us are just as familiar with “Autumn Leaves” or Ella Fitzgerald’s effortless skat, right? Goes to show how popular jazz actually is in our lives.
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That being said, the herculean task today is to choose only 10 of the most popular jazz songs of all time, and as much as we hate to do it, some amazing songs and all time favorites might be left out. We are only trying to point out the new jazz listeners to the right direction by choosing the songs that you’ll hear at the biggest jazz festivals and the ones that have been improvised upon a million times! But, of course we can never get tired of them now, can we? Here goes the list…
10. Summertime- Ella Fitzgerald,
When talking jazz, it’s hard not be talking about “Summertime”. The song that has its name etched in history as the most covered song of all time. From Janis Joplin to Billie Holiday, legendary singers have had their own renditions that have broken the charts. But is we need to choose one, Ella Fitzgerald’s performance has probably been the most popular one.
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9. Blue in Green – Miles Davis,
The man, who only changed music five or six times, had to turn up in the list sooner or later. We prefer sooner! Even though all of the legend’s albums qualify as jazz staples, “Blue in Green” deserves a special spot on our list. It has to be one of the most popular songs on the Kind of Blue album.
8. Donna Lee- Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie,
Now, let’s expand our horizons and include this bebop standard into our playlist. Bird and Diz came together to perform this unusual and complex piece, and the rest was jazz history! However, it has been purported to have been composed by none other than Miles Davis!
7. So What – Miles Davis,
Needless to point out how any times this name will be appearing on the most popular jazz songs of all time list! Another one off Kind of Blue, “So What” has been on every jazz listeners personal favorite list across the world. It has seen its fair share of reproductions also, including one by the great Larry Carlton.
6. Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday,
Landing straight to vocal jazz from improvisation! “Strange Fruit”, sung and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939 still remains as fresh as ever. The song was originally based on a poem written by Abel Meeropol.
5. Autumn Leaves,
The artist name has been deliberately kept blank. Since, it has been covered countless times since the 1940s and is known as a popular standard, it makes it almost impossible to handpick one rendition. Whether it’s the Bill Evans recording or the Miles Davis performance, each one has a soul of its own. So, we’ll just let you pick your favorite one.
4. Take Five- Dave Brubeck,
The song, originally composed by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet and included on their album Take Out, went on to become the best-selling jazz piece ever. It even received significant radio time and has been included in several movie soundtracks.
3. Sing Sing Sing, Benny Goodman,
Here’s one from the Big Band era. “Sing Sing Sing” was first recorded by the New Orleans Gang after being composed by Louis Prima. However, the song became most famous with Benny Goodman’s rendition.
2. My Favorite Things – John Coltrane,
So we’ve all hummed along with it in The Sound of Music and then came John Coltrane’s interpretation and changed the end game. It went on to become one of the classic jazz numbers and a staple for a Coltrane concert. The song got a whole new jazz makeover, complete with modal changes.
1. Salt Peanuts – Dizzy Gillespie,
And, we sign off with the whimsical skat/bebop tune by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. It is not only one of the most popular jazz songs of all time, but also one of the staples in bebop. Of course, it’s Diz we are talking about after all!
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