Jazz
Funeral Songs
Explore 28 funeral songs tagged as "jazz". Each song has been carefully curated to help you create a meaningful memorial service.
All Jazz Songs
When the Saints Go Marching In
by Louis Armstrong
The quintessential New Orleans jazz funeral song, starting somber then exploding into joyful celebration during the second line.
Why it's meaningful: Embodies New Orleans jazz funeral tradition - mourning the loss while celebrating the soul\\
Best moment: Recessional or second line celebration, especially for New Orleans funerals.
Georgia on My Mind
by Ray Charles
Ray Charles\\
Why it's meaningful: The longing for Georgia represents nostalgia for home and better times, honoring those who cherished their roots.
Best moment: Perfect for Georgia natives or honoring homesick souls.
What a Wonderful World
by Louis Armstrong
A celebration of life
Why it's meaningful: Reminds us to appreciate the world our loved one cherished.
Best moment: Uplifting choice for celebrating a life of gratitude.
St. James Infirmary Blues
by Louis Armstrong
Classic New Orleans blues about visiting a deceased lover at St. James Infirmary, with haunting melody and somber brass.
Why it's meaningful: One of the most iconic blues funeral songs, capturing death\\
Best moment: Perfect for New Orleans-style funerals or honoring blues music lovers.
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
by Traditional Gospel
Traditional gospel hymn often played by jazz bands in New Orleans funerals, combining spiritual yearning with musical celebration.
Why it's meaningful: Expresses desire for divine closeness during grief while honoring the New Orleans tradition of jazz funerals.
Best moment: Processional for New Orleans-style funerals or spiritual services.
Down by the Riverside
by Traditional Spiritual
Upbeat spiritual about laying down burdens by the riverside, frequently played during second line celebrations at New Orleans funerals.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates laying down life\\
Best moment: Second line or recessional for celebration of life services.
Summertime
by Ella Fitzgerald
Gershwin\\
Why it's meaningful: The gentle lullaby quality promises that life is easy now, offering comfort that the deceased is finally at rest.
Best moment: Beautiful for mothers, children, or anyone deserving peaceful rest.
God Bless the Child
by Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday\\
Why it's meaningful: Honors those who made their own way in the world, acknowledging the strength required to stand alone.
Best moment: For honoring independent spirits or single parents who provided for their children.
Autumn Leaves
by Nat King Cole
Jazz standard about memories fading like autumn leaves, with Nat King Cole\\
Why it's meaningful: The autumn imagery captures the bittersweet beauty of endings and the gentle fading of summer into winter.
Best moment: Perfect for autumn funerals or honoring the beauty of life\\
Strange Fruit
by Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday\\
Why it's meaningful: For deaths resulting from racial violence or injustice, this acknowledges the horror and demands remembrance.
Best moment: Powerful for honoring victims of racial violence or social justice advocates.
I'll Be Seeing You
by Billie Holiday
Tender wartime ballad about remembering loved ones in familiar places.
Why it's meaningful: Expresses how memories of the departed remain vivid in everyday moments.
Best moment: Beautiful for reflection during viewing or memorial slideshow.
Trouble in Mind
by Bertha
Classic blues standard about hardship and sorrow, recorded by numerous blues artists with both mournful and defiant tones.
Why it's meaningful: A blues standard that acknowledges life\\
Best moment: For lives marked by struggle but filled with strength.
Oh, Didn\\
by Traditional Jazz
Lively jazz funeral standard celebrating a life well-lived with all its adventures, traditionally played during the second line.
Why it's meaningful: Honors those who lived fully and boldly, rambling through life\\
Best moment: Second line celebration for those who lived adventurous lives.
Nearer, My God, to Thee
by Traditional Hymn
Solemn hymn often played by jazz bands during the funeral procession, expressing spiritual longing for divine presence.
Why it's meaningful: Combines sacred yearning with jazz tradition, famously rumored to have been played as the Titanic sank.
Best moment: Processional for New Orleans funerals or traditional services.
Stormy Monday
by T-Bone Walker
Classic blues standard about heartache and difficult times, with smooth jazz-inflected guitar and weary vocals.
Why it's meaningful: The slow, measured blues acknowledges that grief comes in waves throughout the week, with some days harder than others.
Best moment: For those who loved blues music or lived through many stormy Mondays.
Nobody Knows You When You\\
by Bessie Smith
Classic blues about life\\
Why it's meaningful: Honors lives marked by struggle while acknowledging the truth about who shows up when times are hard.
Best moment: For honoring resilient souls who faced life\\
Take Five
by Dave Brubeck Quartet
Iconic instrumental jazz in 5/4 time with Paul Desmond\\
Why it's meaningful: The sophisticated, laid-back jazz captures the essence of cool intellectualism and mid-century modern elegance.
Best moment: Perfect for jazz lovers or sophisticated, cerebral individuals.
In a Sentimental Mood
by Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
Ellington and Coltrane\\
Why it's meaningful: The romantic, nostalgic mood honors relationships built on tenderness, sophistication, and shared aesthetic appreciation.
Best moment: Beautiful for jazz-loving couples or sophisticated romantic relationships.
My Funny Valentine
by Chet Baker
Chet Baker\\
Why it's meaningful: The vulnerability in loving someone for their imperfections honors relationships that embraced all of who someone was.
Best moment: Touching for honoring imperfect but deeply loved spouses.
Cry Me a River
by Julie London
Julie London\\
Why it's meaningful: The cool delivery of deep pain honors complicated relationships and the right to feel hurt.
Best moment: For honoring complex romantic relationships or sophisticated sorrow.
Misty
by Johnny Mathis
Erroll Garner composition made famous by Johnny Mathis, with dreamy jazz romance and tender vocals.
Why it's meaningful: The misty, dreamlike quality of romance honors relationships that felt magical and otherworldly.
Best moment: Beautiful for romantic spouses who shared tender, dreamy love.
The Very Thought of You
by Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole\\
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates how the thought alone of someone can fill us with warmth, honoring enduring romantic presence.
Best moment: Tender choice for honoring romantic love that fills the heart.
All Blues
by Miles Davis
Miles Davis\\
Why it's meaningful: The cool, meditative jazz honors intellectual, contemplative souls who appreciated sophisticated artistry.
Best moment: Perfect for jazz aficionados or honoring cool, cerebral individuals.
In the Mood
by Glenn Miller
Iconic big band instrumental that defined the swing era.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates the joy and energy of someone who loved life and music.
Best moment: Joyful choice for a celebration of life or reception.
Moonlight Serenade
by Glenn Miller
Dreamy big band ballad that epitomizes 1940s elegance and romance.
Why it's meaningful: Evokes the grace and beauty of a bygone era.
Best moment: Elegant choice for reflection or as background during viewing.
Round Midnight
by Thelonious Monk
Monk\\
Why it's meaningful: The haunting melody and complex harmonies honor sophisticated grief and the quiet loneliness of late-night sorrow.
Best moment: For jazz aficionados or honoring contemplative, intellectual souls.
Come Sunday
by Mahalia Jackson
Duke Ellington composition from his sacred concert, sung by Mahalia, blending jazz sophistication with gospel fervor.
Why it's meaningful: The meeting of jazz and gospel honors the sacred in the sophisticated, celebrating spiritual devotion with artistic excellence.
Best moment: Beautiful for Christian funerals honoring jazz and gospel traditions.
Lush Life
by Billy Strayhorn
Billy Strayhorn\\
Why it's meaningful: The bittersweet sophistication honors those who lived full, complex lives in the urban nightlife.
Best moment: For sophisticated souls who knew both glamour and loneliness.