Awesome Jazz

Vocalist Tara Louise leads off one of our favorite Postmodern Jukebox covers yet, with a vibrant 1920’s jazz style version of Japanese Kawaii metal group Babymetal’s cult hit Gimme Chocolate. If you’re unfamiliar with the original, here ya go. You’re welcome.

Somebody’s Heine is crowding my icebox… Postmodern Jukebox features a Blue Note style cover of the 1994 Weezer ballad Say It Ain’t So, with the vivacious vocals and equally vibrant red hair of Dani Armstrong (aka “Jack Dani”) leading the charge.

Slip inside the eye of your mind and listen to Postmodern Jukebox and vocalist Maiya Sykes as they transform the ironically titled Oasis track Don’t Look Back in Anger into a sultry New Orleans jazz ballad.

No Surprises is one of the most oft-covered Radiohead tracks of all time, but we’re rather taken with Postmodern Jukebox’s ’30s-style jazz arrangement, with Chloe Feoranzo’s warm and smooth vocals standing in for Thom Yorke’s.

A vibrant cover version of Marvin Gaye’s classic which will have you marching down the street, spinning an umbrella along to the Dixieland jazz sounds of New Orleans’ Hot 8 Brass Band. Go figure that the video was shot in London.

Musician Dave Wave combines his jazz piano and sax stylings with the rap rhythms and pacing of Eminem’s 2002 classic, resulting in an unlikely, but somehow awesome marriage of two seemingly incompatible musical genres.

Postmodern Jukebox is joined by vocalist Sara Niemietz, as they turn in a swing jazz cover of one of our all-time favorite Talking Heads’ tracks. Nothing will ever be better than the original, but we appreciate their unique arrangement.

(PG-13 Language) While digging under some rocks, we stumbled onto this 2009 cover of Rage Against the Machine’s classic, performed by German swing revival band Musik for the Kitchen. Their Seven Nation Army is fun too.

The multitalented Daniel Koren takes on A-Ha’s 1985 guilty pleasure classic Take on Me with his own unique arrangement packed with jazz and multilayered vocal harmonics.

Vocalist Haley Reinhart and Postmodern Jukebox knock it out of the park once more with an awesome ’40s style jazz cover of the Cardigans 1996 classic Lovefool. Seriously, why didn’t Haley win American Idol?

Grammy-winning Jazz and R&B musician Robert Glasper turns in a brilliant instrumental rendition of Radiohead’s track Reckoner. The track appears on his upcoming live album Covered, to be released June 16th.

Vocalist Robyn Adele Anderson and Postmodern Jukebox crank out a jazzy rendition of Coolio’s classic Gangsta’s Paradise, set in the heart of the prohibition era. We kept expecting Nucky Thompson to make an appearance.

Musician Andy Rehfeldt transforms Black Sabbath’s metal classic Paranoid into an upbeat jazz tune, preserving Ozzy Osbourne’s original vocals, but forever lightening the mood of the track. Also, we prefer to remember Ozzy this way.

Casey Abrams cranks out snappy vocals, bass and melodica for ths Postmodern Jukebox retro jazz version of Fountains of Wayne’s pop hit Stacy’s Mom. They should cover the entire Welcome Interstate Managers album in this style.

YouTuber Andy Rehfeldt managed to turn Van Halen’s classic Running with the Devil into a mellow jazz track more fitting of Steely Dan than David Lee Roth. If you enjoyed it as much as we did, buy Andy a beer.

NPR Music is streaming The Rite of Spring, the upcoming album of prog jazz trio The Bad Plus, most famous for their sublime rendition of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. The album covers Igor Stravinsky’s eponymous ballet score.