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100 Greatest Jazz Ballads

Criteria: These jazz ballads were chosen based on influence, originality, impact, dedication, beauty, and if it became a multiple-recorded standard by different jazz artists. (Two Versions to Compare, N/A = Only One Version)

Last Updated: 2017-04-08
Greatest Jazz Ballads
  1. Strange Fruit - (Billie Holliday, Cassandra Wilson)
  2. What a Wonderful World - (Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton)
  3. Round' Midnight - (Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis)
  4. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - (Charles Mingus, Stanley Clarke)
  5. Mood Indigo - (Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus)
  6. Naima - (John Coltrane, Woody Herman)
  7. Body and Soul - (Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon)
  8. Willow Weep for Me - (Dexter Gordon, Clifford Brown)
  9. I Remember Clifford - (Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie)
10. Summertime - (Sidney Bechet, Herbie Hancock / Joni Mitchell)
11. Unforgetable - (Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole)
12. Black and Blue - (Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington)
13. Time After Time - (J.J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt)
14. Lush Life - (Joe Henderson / Billy Strayhorn, Chick Corea)
15. Darn that Dream - (Dexter Gordon, Billie Holliday)
16. I'm Old Fashioned - (John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald)
17. Moon River- (Louis Armstrong, Art Blakey)
18. Autumn in New York - (Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker)
19. Blue In Green - (Miles Davis / Bill Evans, Charlie Haden)
20. Mona Lisa - (Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby)
21. Easy Living - (Clifford Brown, Billie Holliday)
22. At Last - (Etta James, Glenn Miller)
23. Georgia On My Mind - (Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong)
24. My One and Only Love - (John Coltrane, Joe Henderson)
25. My Funny Valentine - (Chet Baker, Miles Davis)
26. Lover Man - (Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley)
27. Sophisticated Lady - (Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine)
28. When I Fall In Love - (Miles Davis / Red Garland, Blue Mitchell)
29. Misty - (Erroll Garner, Sarah Vaughan)
30. Chelsea Bridge - (Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald)
31. Don't Explain - (Billie Holliday, Dexter Gordon)
32. (By The) Sleepy Lagoon - (Harry James, Al Hirt)
33. Drume Negrita - (Arturo Sandoval, Manuel Valera)
34. God Bless the Child - (Billie Holliday, Stanley Turrentine)
35. Ceora - (Lee Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco)
36. Portrait of Jennie - (J.J. Johnson, Freddie Hubbard)
37. Someone to Watch Over Me - (Art Tatum, Stanley Turrentine)
38. I'm a Fool to Want You - (Frank Sinatra, Dexter Gordon)
39. Park Avenue Pitite - (Art Farmer / Benny Golson, Blue Mitchell)
40. Prelude to a Kiss - (Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald)
41. What's New? - (Modern Jazz Quartet, Louis Armstrong)
42. Poor Butterfly - (Sonny Rollins, Benny Goodman)
43. Love Letters - (Stanley Turrentine, Diana Krall)
44. You Don't Know What Love Is - (Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey)
45. Greensleeves - (John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins)
46. That's My Desire - (Louis Armstrong / Jack Teagarden, Ella Fitzgerald)
47. This Masquerade - (George Benson, Red Garland)
48. Parker's Mood - (Charlie Parker, Max Roach)
49. I Surrender, Dear- (Thelonious Monk, Artie Shaw)
50. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise - (Larry Young / Woody Shaw, Lee Morgan)
51. Answer Me, My Love - (Nat King Cole, Gene Ammons)
52. Guess I'll Let My Tears Out To Dry - (Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsallis)
53. I Can't Get Started - (Al Hirt, Billie Holliday)
54. Flamingo - (Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus)
55. Everything Must Change - (George Benson, Quincy Jones)
56. But Beautiful - (Gene Ammons, Freddie Hubbard)
57. Flamenco Sketches - (Miles Davis, Joe Henderson)
58. Born to be Blue - (Grant Green, Wes Montgomery)
59. Love Is Here To Stay - (Lionel Hampton / Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster)
60. Something I Dreamed Last Night - (Miles Davis, John Coltrane)
61. Little Girl Blue - (Grant Green, Jimmy Smith)
62. My Romance - (Houston Person, Stan Getz)
63. I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good) - (Oscar Peterson, Cannonball Adderley)
64. How Deep is the Ocean? - (Miles Davis, Chet Baker)
65. Imagination - (Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Dorsey)
66. Please Be Kind - (Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan)
67. Coral - (Marilynn Seits, David Sanchez)
68. In a Sentimental Mood - (John Coltrane / Duke Ellington, Grover Washington Jr.)
69. Peace - (Horace Silver / Blue Mitchell, Joe Zawinul)
70. My Foolish Heart - (Masabumi Kickuchi, John McLaughlin)
71. Black Beauty - (Duke Ellington, Hotsy Totsy Gang)
72. When Sunny Gets Blue - (Jimmy Heath, Stan Kenton)
73. Search For Peace - (McCoy Tyner, Frank Morgan)
74. Eternal - (Branford Marsalis, N/A)
75. The Sand and the Sea - (Nat King Cole, N/A)
76. To You - (Duke Ellington / Count Basie, Gene Harris)
77. Angel Eyes - (Wes Montgomery, Gene Ammons)
78. Skylark - (Art Blakey, Paul Desmond)
79. Yesterdays - (Art Tatum, Bud Powell)
80. Crystal Silence - (Chick Corea/Gary Burton, Mark Murphy)
81. Fall - (Miles Davis, Fred Hersch)
82. Here's That Rainy Day - (Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Burrell)
83. Whatever Possessed Me? - (Elvin Jones, N/A)
84. Dont Know Why- (Norah Jones, Pat Metheny)
85. You're Mine You - (J.J. Johnson, Chet Baker)
86. Ernie's Tune - (Dexter Gordon, N/A)
87. Lillie - (Modern Jazz Quartet, Cannonball Adderley)
88. Strange Meadow Lark - (Dave Brubeck, N/A)
89. You've Changed - (Dexter Gordon, Frank Morgan)
90. Self Portrait in Three Colors - (Charles Mingus, N/A)
91. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven) - (Ray Charles, Bing Crosby)
92. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most - (Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald)
93. Time - (Richie Powell / Clifford Brown / Max Roach, Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
94. Laura - (Sonny Stitt, J.J. Johnson)
95. It Could Happen to You - (Erroll Garner, Kenny Dorham)
96. Infant Eyes - (Wayne Shorter, Joe Lovano)
97. Lament - (J.J. Johnson / Kai Winding, Miles Davis)
98. Then I'll Be Tired of You - (Stanley Turrentine, Coleman Hawkins)
99. Dear Ann - (Paul Chambers, N/A)
100. Song for the Lonely Woman - (Art Blakey, N/A)

jazz singer Billie Holliday
Billie Holliday


jazz trumpet artist Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong


jazz piano artist Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington


jazz saxophone artist Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker







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