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)
Edited By: Alvin, Lew
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 - (Jay Jay 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, Jay Jay Johnson) 95. It Could Happen to You - (Erroll Garner, Kenny Dorham) 96. Infant Eyes - (Wayne Shorter, Joe Lovano) 97. Lament - (Jay Jay 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)