Rather than set some magic number of such things I’m leaving it open to “the best” as an open-ended grouping.
I’m leaving it to your discretion as to what constitutes “jazz” since my own definition is murky at best.
To start the ball rolling, among my favorites (from as far back as at least the Big Band era up through things I’m hearing in the “new releases” shows on the radio) are:
Round Midnight
So What
Blue in Green
Four Brothers
Cherokee
How High The Moon
Are You Going With Me?
In A Sentimental Mood
Jordu
Joy Spring
Lullaby of Birdland
April in Paris (Basie)
There’s just twelve, and I could keep going without a slowdown for at least 50.
But why don’t you pitch in some so it’s not just my stuff?
I Got Rhythm – A good song in its own right, plus the professor of a jazz course I had in college claimed its chord structure was the basis for hundreds of other jazz songs.
Anything by Gershwin, anything by Cole Porter. For the latter, specifically Night and Day, specifically a version Stan Getz did with Kenny Barron a few months before the former’s death.
Sunday mornings on WMOT are not all that great so I listen to KKJZ and “Chuck Cecil’s The Swinging Years” for the nostalgia mostly. His theme song is a neat tune that I knew I had heard but just couldn’t identify. So I did a web search on “Chuck Cecil Swinging Years Theme Music” and got a hit identifying it as the Harry James instrumental “The Mole.”
I did that just a few minutes ago and have a great sense of accomplishment. I may not try to do anything else today until Deadwood comes on.
Tempus Fugue It - Bud Powell
The Sinister Minister - Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Guajira en Azul - Cal Tjader
Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie
A Night in Tunisia - (Several good versions, I like the Art Blakey one best)
Doodlin’ - Horace Silver
Next Exit - Poncho Sanchez
Killer Joe - Quincy Joe
Song to the Pharoah Kings - Return to Forever
St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins
Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington
Teen Town - Weather Report
Moanin’ - Jazz Messengers
It’s too huge a field to only pick a few. Most of Duke Ellington and Cole Porter’s outputs by various artists, of course. Some artists are identified with certain tunes, regardless of who wrote them, such as “Let’s Get Lost” and Chet Baker. Listing all of Ben Webster’s output or Clifford Brown’s stuff would be pointless.
Made me think of Chick Corea’s Spain which is based on a composition that, in spite of Miles including it on Sketches of Spain and no telling how many others (Hubert Laws, Desmond, Jim Hall to name three) having done versions of their own, doesn’t really quite sit still as a “jazz” tune: Concierto de Aranjuez.
Spain is just fine. One version with Chick, Bela Fleck, and Bobby McFerrin doing it on a TV show recorded at The Blue Note stands out as a high point of things available on BETJazz.
As jazz songs go, it’s hard to top Billy Strayhorn’s complex and difficult to perform Lush Life. It takes a hell of a singer to attempt it, and only a very few succeed. But what a song!
If we’re going to talk about Brubeck, I have to pimp for the Carnegie Hall album once again. It’s one of the best live albums ever, and some of the best music the quartet ever played. From an updated “Take Five” to “Pennies From Heaven” to Joe Morello’s jaw-dropping drum perfomance on “Castillian Drums”, it’s an essential album for Brubeck fans.
Not the least quibble. One of the very best Brubeck albums.
Another that is a favorite of mine predates the time experimentation albums, but has the Middle Eastern flavor of Blue Rondo a la Turk by way of two exciting tracks: Nomad and The Golden Horn. A really fine album: Jazz Impressions of Eurasia
I can’t recall the album for sure, but a beautiful tune written by Brubeck is the Japanese flavored Koto Song. He and Desmond had a duets album after the group broke up and I believe it’s on there.
Take Five, Blue Rondo ala Turk, Unsquare Dance, Forty Days…all perfect. I got to watch Dave rehearse with an orchestra from backstage before a performance of the full St. Matthew’s Passion. The only word to use is awesome. Especially when he’d noodle around during breaks.
I wasn’t sure of the Japan album, and didn’t take time to look it up, so thanks.
The album I was thinking of is Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond 1975: The Duets recorded a couple of years before Desmond’s passing. It’s just from memory, but I think the Duets version is more in the Japanese vein, being just Dave and Paul without the rhythm section. Dave uses the plucked strings approach on the piano to simulate the koto and Paul’s alto sounds very Oriental flutelike. A very moody piece.
I’m reminded of a Bud Shank & Kimio Eto flute and koto album that is even more authentic sounding.
My Brubeck brag is that I saw the quartet (Joe Morello and Gene Wright version) in concert in 1959 or 1960. Can’t be sure of the year. It was electrifying.