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My love of jazz is pretty wide - I'll listen to anything from big band to Norah Jones. Here's a compilation of my top 10 favourite jazz songs that you'll hopefully enjoy as well! Nothing serious, just a short simple list.

10: Norah Jones - Don't Know Why
View clip here
Some people like to call Norah "Snore-ah Jones", because her voice is so soft. I really like her laid-back style of playing and singing, though. This was her breakout song. You can also watch the Sesame Street version with Elmo and Norah, singing Don't Know Why "Y" didn't come.

9: Art Tatum - Tiger Rag
View clip here
The above video shows a player piano playing what Art would have played - it doesn't look humanly possible. You can here the original version by him here. Legend has it that when he was younger, he tried learning a piece on a player piano - without realizing the song was actually meant for four hands, not two!

8: Billie Holiday - Pennies from Heaven
View clip here
Billie Holiday is one of my favourite vocalists. This song was featured in the movie Corrina, Corrina with Whoopi Goldberg. You can view that part of the movie here.

7: Charles Mingus - Orange was the Color of Her Dress, then Silk Blues
Hear a sample here
A full version of this song is hard to find on the Internet, but there's a sample above here for you. Mingus was primarily a bass player, but he also recorded an album called Mingus Plays Piano...where he obviously played the piano.

6: Chico 5 and Eric Dolphy - In a Sentimental Mood
View clip here
This version of the classic Duke Ellington song is amazing - I think the violins in the background is what does it for me. John Coltrane and Duke Ellington's verison is also fantastic - less bitter and more sweet, if you ask me. I think I'm beginning to depress myself with all these sentimental songs…

5: Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five
View clip here
This is one of the most recognizable tunes in jazz, simply for its distinct beat rhythm. It actually reminds me a lot of this new song by St. Germain called Rose Rouge. Do you find the same similarities as I do?

4: Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz - The Girl from Ipanema
View clip here
When someone mentions Brazilian jazz - this is the epitome of it. Ipanema is a district in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I love how the song and video are all tropical - yet the window in the background shows it's snowing! Astrud is the girl singing, while her husband Joao is the guitarist and Stan is the saxophonist. This song also has Portuguese lyrics. Oh, and sometimes when female singers sing this song they change the lyrics to "The Boy from Ipanema".

3: Nat King Cole - Stardust
View the Recorded version or live version here
This is a pretty schmaltzy, romantic song - it's funny that most jazz songs seem to be either really aggressive or overly sentimental. The lyrics in this song are sad but beautiful - not to mention the strings playing in the background. It's been used in a lot of movies, like Sleepless in Seattle. Hoagy Carmichael was a famous composer for these "classic standard" songs. You can also watch a super-young Frank Sinatra sing this song.

2: Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Time is Here - from the Peanuts cartoon
View cartoon version or instrumental version
Vince Guaraldi was a jazz pianist who composed all the songs for the cartoon Peanuts, including this one. His compositions are pretty sophisticated for a cartoon - and he's done some other interesting work beyond Peanuts as well. Christmas Time is Here never fails to remind me of a toasty fireplace and snowing falling outside my window. In other words - it always reminds me of Christmas time.

1: Thelonious Monk Quartet - 'Round Midnight
View Clip Here
This one of the most recorded jazz songs of all time. It was written by Thelonious Monk in his early 20s. It's my favourite because it has a steady, mellow pace. Other artist versions of this song include Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery.

Thanks for tuning in! Till next time!

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