Happy International Jazz Day! Celebrate With a Listen of These Disney Classics!

International Jazz Day

Saturday, April 30, 2022, marks the 11th official annual celebration of International Jazz Day.

In November 2011, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and jazz enthusiasts all over the world. Each year on April 30, this international art form is recognized for promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human rights and human dignity; eradicating discrimination; fostering gender equality; and promoting freedom of expression. International Jazz Day is the culmination of Jazz Appreciation Month, which draws public attention to jazz and its extraordinary heritage throughout April.

You can celebrate International Jazz Day the Disney way by listening to some Jazz pieces selected by Walt Disney Records on Spotify. Or, take a look down below at some of the renditions of Disney Jazz Standards we’ve selected below to add to your daily playlist.

“Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”

(Disney’s Song of the South, 1946)

Provided by Universal Music Group, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, Louis Armstrong Disney Songs The Satchmo Way, 1968, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!

Mister Bluebird’s on my shoulder
It’s the truth, it’s “actch’ll”
Everything is “satisfactch’ll”

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

Related Post: Disney Removes ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ from the Festival of Fantasy Soundtrack

“He’s a Tramp”

(Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, 1955)

Peggy Lee as “Peg” performing “He’s a Tramp” From Lady and the Tramp, Walt Disney Records.

He’s a tramp, he’s a scoundrel
He’s a rounder, he’s a cad
He’s a tramp, but I love him
Yes, even I have got it pretty bad

You can never tell when he’ll show up
He gives you plenty of trouble
I guess he’s just a no ‘count pup
But I wish that he were double!

“The Bare Necessities”

(Disney’s The Jungle Book, 1967)

Phil Harris as “Baloo” performing “The Bare Necessities” From The Jungle Book, Walt Disney Records.

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature’s recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life!

“I Wanna Be Like You”

(Disney’s The Jungle Book, 1967)

Louis Prima as “King Louis” Performing “I Wanna Be Like You” From The Jungle Book (2015 Electro Swing Remix by Sim Gretina).

Now I’m the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I’ve reached the top and had to stop
And that’s what botherin’ me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I’m tired of monkeyin’ around! 

Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You’ll see it’s true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human too!

“Everybody Wants To Be A Cat”

(Disney’s The Aristocats, 1970)

Scatman Crothers as “Scat Cat” Performing “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” From The Aristocats (2019 Electro Swing Remix by Dave Wave).

Everybody wants to be a cat
Because a cat’s the only cat
Who knows where it’s at

Tell me, everybody’s pickin’ up on that feline beat
‘Cause everything else is obsolete
A square with a horn makes you wish you weren’t born

Every time he plays

But with a square in the act
You can set music back

To the cave man days, cha-cha-ba-dum-bo-day

I’ve heard some corny birds who who tried to sing

Still a cat’s the only cat who knows how to swing

Who wants to dig a long-haired gig or stuff like that?

When everybody wants to be a cat!

“Friend Like Me”

(Disney’s Aladdin, 1992)

Robin Williams as “The Genie” Performing “Friend Like Me” From Aladdin (2018 Electro Swing Remix by Dave Wave).

Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves
Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck ’cause up your sleeves
You got a brand of magic never fails
You got some power in your corner now
Some heavy ammunition in your camp
You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how
See all you gotta do is rub that lamp
And I’ll say
Mister Aladdin, sir
What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order
Jot it down
You ain’t never had a friend like me.

“Rhapsody in Blue”

(Disney’s Fantasia 2000, 1999)

“Rhapsody in Blue” Originally Composed by George Gershwin, 1927, Performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 1999’s Fantasia 2000, Sequel to 1940’s Fantasia.

Monsters Inc. (Main Theme)

(Disney Pixar’s Monsters Inc. 2001)

Monsters Inc. “Main Theme” as seen in the opening sequence of Disney Pixar’s Monsters Inc.

 

“Down in New Orleans”

(Disney’s The Princess and The Frog, 2009)

Dr. John Performing “Down in New Orleans” From Princess and the Frog, Reprised by Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana in the film’s finale.

In the south land
There’s a city
Way down on the river
Where the women are very pretty
And all the men deliver

We got music
It’s always playin
Start in the day time
And go all through the night
And when you hear that music playing
Hear what I’m sayin
Make you feel alright

Grab somebody
Come on down
Bring a paint brush
We’re painting the town
There’s some sweetness goin around
Dreams do come true in new Orleans.

“It’s All Right”

(Disney Pixar’s Soul, 2020)

Jon Batiste and Celeste’s version of “It’s All Right” from Soul, from Disney Pixar, now streaming on Disney+.

Say it’s all right
Say it’s all right
It’s all right, have a good time
‘Cause it’s all right, woah, it’s all right
Now listen to the beat
And kinda pat your feet
You’ve got soul and everybody knows
That it’s all right, woah, it’s all right.

“Surface Pressure”

(Disney’s Encanto, 2021)