The 15 Best Jazz Songs to Play on Piano

The Entertainer was composed in 1902 by Scott Joplin, a famous American pianist of the Belle Epoque of the 1900s.

It’s a Rag Time style whose jazz chords aren’t immediately easy to master on the piano.

There are quite a lot of offbeats and it is necessary to practice a bit before being able to reproduce them well.

The music is so well known that it was ranked number 10 in the 100 Songs of the Century.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Scott Joplin’s jazz music The Entertainer, click here.

Originally written by Percy Mayfield in 1960, the song Hit the Road Jack became truly famous when Ray Charles recorded it in 1961 on ABC Records.

It almost immediately became a jazz and R&B standard, winning the 1961 Grammy Awards for best R&B recording.

The upbeat rhythm and distinctive jazz chords of this song make it a worldwide hit that is still known worldwide today. Hit the Road Jack is as well known in the world of jazz as We Wish You a Merry Christmas in the world of Christmas songs on piano.

Play it on the piano and have your friends and family dancing to it in no time!

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Ray Charles’ Hit the Road Jack jazz music, click here.

A great American jazz and ragtime composer and pianist, Eubie Blake has collaborated in many musical works, such as the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first musicals directed by African-Americans.

Her jazz title Charleston Rag is very well known in the jazz world and her very special chords give the music its charm. Its lively and dynamic rhythm can sometimes make you think of certain manga and anime songs, such as One Piece.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Eubie Blake’s Charleston Rag jazz music, click here.

Written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss in 1967, What a Wonderful World was first recorded by the famous American jazzman Louis Armstrong.

The music describes the beautiful landscapes that nature offers us (trees, sky, day and night, …). It became a great success in the spring of 1968.

Even today, it is one of the best known jazz songs in the world, even by laymen. This song is as well known in the world of jazz as Fur Elise is in the world of classical music for piano.

The piano version, with its numerous jazz chords, knows how to charm us and plunge us into the universe of Armstrong. This version is quite practical since it’s relatively easy to play on the piano. The great beginners of the jazz piano style will therefore find their happiness there.

The influence of this composition has been considerable not only on the jazz scene but also on other musical genres such as rap piano pieces.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Louis Armstrong’s jazz music What a Wonderful World, click here.

King Porter Stomp music, written by pianist Jelly Roll Morton in 1923, is today a jazz standard.

With its lively rhythm and dynamic chords, it was a real success during the swing era., inspired by great boogie woogie songs.

In 1935, it was taken up and readapted by the musician Benny Goodman, who gave the song its full notoriety.

Playing this music on the piano will take you back to the jazz universe of the 1920s, which today’s artists cherish so much. This type of jazz melody has also strongly inspired some Disney piano music, such as The Aristocats, at the end of the 20th century.

Be careful, however, with the difficulty of the piece: beginner pianists will have difficulty mastering it, such as Giorno’s Theme in the world of anime piano songs.

Indeed, it is not easy to play and it is best to start with another jazz piece from this list to get your hands on this very special genre.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of the King Porter Stomp jazz music by Jelly Roll Morton, click here.

The song Take the “A” Train was composed by pianist and composer Billy Strainhorn in 1939. It is the artist Duke Ellington who first recorded the music in 1941 on the RCA Victor label.

The dynamic rhythm and chord progressions made this jazz music a monumental title among contemporaries.

The music enters from its recording in 1941 in the charts of the best sales in the United States during 7 consecutive weeks, in the same way as current pop songs do.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Duke Ellington’s jazz music Take the “A” Train, click here.

Originally written by composer George Gershwin for the musical Girl Crazy in 1930, But Not for Me has been reprised and arranged many times.

Chet Baker’s jazz version, released in 1954, was a great success and contributed greatly to making this music known to the general public.

Chet Baker added chords closer to the world of jazz to incorporate his personal touch, as some artists do in piano rock songs.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Chet Baker’s jazz music But Not for Me, click here.

The song So What, written by the American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1959, is today one of the icons of this musical genre.

It is considered a revolution and an emblem in the history of jazz.

It is taken from the album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album in history, with no less than 4 million copies sold.

The advantage of the piano version of this song is that it is relatively simple to play and accessible to beginners wishing to get into jazz.

We therefore recommend that you start your learning of jazz piano with this iconic title.

You can learn to play more similar songs by checking out our article on the easiest piano songs with letters, the best piano pieces with numbers or the top 10 piano songs with easy chords.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Miles Davis’ So What jazz music, click here.

Summertime is a song originally written by composer, musician and pianist George Gershwin in 1935 for the opera Porgy and Bess.

This title is generally considered a jazz standard because of the many covers, rearrangements and interpretations it has undergone.

Ranging from classical to jazz, pop, soul and reggae, Summertime has left its mark on a whole generation of young artists in search of musical renewal.

The jazz version on La Touche Musicale is marked with interesting chords that will allow you to progress in this style.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Ella Fitzgerald’s Summertime jazz music, click here.

It is Bart Howard who composed and wrote Fly Me to the Moon in 1954.

Recorded by Frank Sinatra in its most famous version in 1964, the song has since become a great jazz standard and has been performed many times by many artists, both American and French.

It’s a music that speaks of love and has therefore been taken up by personalities such as Dany Brillant or Guy Marchand in France.

The jazz version of Fly Me to the Moon is catchy and easy to play on the piano. It is within the reach of pianists who are just starting out.

If you like the romantic dimension of this type of song, we recommend you to read our article about the most beautiful love piano songs and the best piano songs for weddings.

To access the PDF piano score and midi file of Frank Sinatra’s jazz music Fly Me to the Moon, click here.