YES.

Something I've been doing for years.

I have found that when the target jazz song is known and loved by the age group in my audience, they really appreciate the performance. Not so much when the target song is one of the great old Standards known to a generation or two previous to my audience. I do try to still include a few of the old ones, though.

American Jazz Pianist Ramsey Lewis led the way, his "In Crowd" version is still quite popular. Here it is updated to the '90s, using "Wade in the Water" The Groove MASTER:



Extra Credit if you know who Ramsey Lewis original Jazz Drummer was, here's a hint:



Paul McCartney's Blackbird.



Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror.

I learned this one first on guitar from transcribing the mighty Tuck Andress.

Halfway through the process of defining my own guitar performance, I one day realized that this one makes a wonderful Shout Chorus on piano, Gospel Style. Goes over well almost everywhere. Key of G and Gospel Piano is way cool and rather easy. Piano Jazz Trio or Quartet, this performance makes the toddlers get up and DANCE. If you can hit the toddlers, you've hit everyone else in the room, man.

Then do the Faux Ending trick. Wait a bit, and start up that Shout Chorus stuff One Mo' Time...



Miles, of course, was always on the lookout for modern hit tunes that had enough interesting changes in them.

Time After Time:



I've gotten a bit of mileage out of The Police/Sting tune, "I'll Be Watching You" as Jazz Piano. Not many know that Sting first wrote the song at home on his Hammond A-100 organ as a jazz piece, recorded his organ playing as demo for the band, but the project got mired down in the studio until the guitarist went home and worked out that arpeggiatic signature guitar track. After that, One Take.

Here's Karen Souza, singing it as a Jazz tune:



Then there are the fantastic Reggae covers of Bob Marley that the man whom I've personally named the successor to Oscar Peterson's throne, Monty Alexander has done. Monty was the original studio pianist on many of Bob Marley's creations, also serving as the knowledgeable voice concerning arranging, chording, etc. - And Monty also held the House Piano position at Birdland for years. (!)

When I first encountered Monty's Jazz Piano Trio version of "No Woman No Cry" I immediately spent a pleasant afternoon working it out and it was on the setlist the very next day:

Nice "Builder" kinda thang, build it slow, then SHOUT CHORUS BABY! (Yeah, I had the tenacity to think that I could add to what Monty did with that one, but hey, it works, and if you are somewhere sometime where it isn't, don't shout it, just end the tune.)

Use that #9, man. Those in the know, check out Monty's quote near the end in this one. We can play newer tunes and also pay tribute to the classic Bebop/Modern Jazz while doing it.



"The Look of Love" always goes over with the 60's generation, especially the ladies, it seems. I, of course, play it as a Piano Ballad from time to time, since I can't sing like Diana Krall:




While we are talking about the great Canadian jazz musicians like Diana, let's not overlook the fantastic Michael Buble, who has taken the Jazz Tenor Male Singer up two notches by covering a lot of the newer tunes. "Save the Last Dance for Me":



Hey, we got Harry Connick Jr. stateside. He covers 60s and newer songs as well as the older standards. Here he is doing Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life". That's fellow Pittsburgher Ned Gould sittin' the Alto Sax chair, he and I used to gig together in local bands we'd both likely rather not be mentioned today *grin*. (No, Mike plays the Tenor Solo here:




Don't forget about the R&B tunes, either, many of which were darn near jazz anyway, since many of the Studio Session Players of that era were actually Jazz Musicians hired to backup the singers when the sun was shining.

Here's Monty Alexander again, I Got My Mojo Workin'" which is also much the same as the other hit from the same era, "High Heel Sneakers" (And wear yo' wig hat on yo' head..."

Monty Alexander, John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton Swingin' HARD at KPLU FM NPR:



Hey, you can even cover a Radiohead tune, (!) here's "Creep" as a medium slow jazz piano ballad:



I don't think anyone would have ever known the name of Jim Morrison if it wasn't for Ray Manzarek, who, after all was first and foremost a jazz pianist. Almost any of the Doors tunes can work out as a jazz tune, give or take:



Same song makes a marvelous jazz minor performance for those into Gypsy Jazz:



Even Eric Clapton's tunes aren't safe from us jazzers. Note the use of an old standard as an Intro. That trick alone can be both fun, and the surprise of the audience always works - Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" morphed into
Eric Clapton's "Layla" -note the audience response, I find this trick useful if not overdone in the same set:



If you can't figure out anything else that works with it, by all means try a Bossa. Here's "Bossa in Beatles" covering The Beatles' "Hear Comes the Sun" and advancing that particular method very well:



"Oh Darling" -- this is nuthin' but a Blooz tune, which to any experience jazzer means the sky's the limit on what can be done. Even as a Jazz Ballad w/female singer: (If a pianist knows their Chicago Blues Piano stuff, have at it as an instrumental!:



Some listings from my own setlist include:

Beatles' "Get Back" as piano jazz. (After all, that was Billy Preston on the track, right?)

"Killing Me Softly"

"Another One Bites the Dust" -- I save this one for when there is a savvy Tenor (or Bari!) Saxophonist on the gig.

Try The Door's "Light My Fire" as a piano ballad, being certain to play Manzarek's signature Organ Intro part to it, as that is when the audience recognition kicks in, judging from all the raised faces and interrupted conversations when I play it. Slow Ballad is my present usage. Works.

(Once I Found) A Secret Love may in actuality be slightly pre 60's tune, but for some reason is known to all and the song and its changes can work well in anything from Organ Trio to full on bigband, and in between.

"More Today Than Yesterday" - Works every time its played. This one is now a Jazz Organ Standard, covered by many of the greats, don't hesitate to make it happen on your own instrument.


Okay, that's enough, likely too much, hey, did I mention that I LIKE covering the more modern good tunes with usably good changes as Jazz? It is entirely about Audience Response.

Work 'em until you've attained Strong Performance and they will work well for you too.


--Mac

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