List of Jazz Greats for your next retro cocktail party!

Dexter Gordon, Tenor Sax
Dexter Gordon

An Easy Set List For Your Cocktail Soiree

So a few people have asked me about the Jazz 101 page… They dug it, want to get hip to the grooves, but are too lazy and cheap to find all that stuff and buy it. So they asked me to get together a list of songs for a couple of hours worth of great party jazz. So here it is, enough incredible music to get you through an evening of cocktails and conversation. It’s a good mix of standards, vocals, small and big bands, and styles that blend well together. Play them in this order. I’m pretty sure all, if not most of these can be purchased on iTunes, so dig in, kids…

  • The Days of Wine and Roses, Dexter Gordon (Click to play)
  • As Long As I Live, George Shearing Quintet
  • Corcovado, Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto/Antonio Carlos Jobim
  • Corner Pocket, Count Basie & His Orchestra
  • The Shadow of Your Smile, Oscar Peterson
  • Cry Me A River, Julie London
  • Dreamsville, Henry Mancini
  • Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra with The Count Basie Orchestra
  • Giant Steps, John Coltrane Quartet
  • The Girl From Ipanema, Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto
  • The Night has a Thousand Eyes, McCoy Tyner
  • Stella by Starlight, Miles Davis
  • In a Sentimental Mood, Sonny Rollins
  • It Never Entered My Mind, Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster
  • It’s Wonderful (Swonderful), Ella Fitzgerald
  • There Is No Greater Love, Stanley Turrentine & the Three Sounds
  • The Lady Is a Tramp, Frank Sinatra
  • Laura, Charlie Parker
  • Sophisticated Lady, Oscar Peterson
  • Too Marvelous for Words, Lester Young
  • Black Coffee, Julie London
  • Minor Riff, Stan Kenton, 1950’s version
  • Mr. Lucky, Vince Guaraldi
  • A Night In Tunisia, Dexter Gordon
  • On Green Dolphin Street, Stan Getz
  • Out of Nowhere, Charlie Parker Quintet
  • The Pink Panther Theme, Henry Mancini
  • I Remember You, Charlie Parker
  • Playboy’s Theme, Cy Coleman
  • Who Can I Turn To, Dexter Gordon
  • ’Round Midnight, Miles Davis
  • Satin Doll, Oscar Peterson Trio
  • Pent-Up House, Sonny Rollins
  • Session at Pete’s Pad, Henry Mancini
  • Desafinado, Getz/Gilberto/Jobim
  • Shiny Stockings, Count Basie
  • So What, Miles Davis Sextet
  • Oh, Good Grief, Vince Guaraldi
  • Solitude, Billie Holiday With Eddie Heyward Orchestra
  • Luck be a Lady, Frank Sinatra
  • Stardust, Boots Randolph
  • Caravan, Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie
  • Straight, No Chaser, Thelonius Monk
  • Take Five (Full Vesion), Dave Brubeck
  • Tenderly, Lionel Hampton & Oscar Peterson
  • Them There Eyes, Count Basie & Ella Fitzgerald
  • There Is No Greater Love, Coleman Hawkins
  • There Will Never Be Another You, Joe Williams & Count Basie
  • It Don’t Mean a Thing, Lester Young
  • Sophisticated Lady, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
  • They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Sarah Vaughan
  • Wave, Oscar Peterson
  • Will You Still Be Mine, McCoy Tyner
  • Stardust, Nat King Cole

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