David Bowie Jazzed: Ten Essential Bowie Covers

One of the measures of a great artist is the number of covers they have inspired. Covers of David Bowie songs are not in short supply; Blondie, The White Stripes, The Cure, Philip Glass, Nirvana, Bauhaus, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name just a handful, have all paid homage to the great pop iconoclast, who died in 2016. So too have a host of jazz musicians. The following is not meant in any way as a definitive list, but simply an entrée to some of the brilliant— and highly diverse—jazz versions of Bowie tunes out there. If you have your own favorite please share in the comments section below.

1. Pachora: "The Man Who Sold The World"

New York quartet Pachora features Chris Speed on clarinet, Brad Shepik on tambura, Jim Black on drums, and Skuli Sverrisson on bass. From its album Ast (Knitting Factory, 2000), Pachora brings a driving Eastern Mediterranean/Balkan feel to this Bowie track from 1970. Speed is absolutely on fire from first minute to last.

2. Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet: "Bring Me The Discoking"

Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing's Acoustic Quartet is one of the great unsung ensembles of modern jazz, with a string of outstanding albums under its belt. Joining Honing on soprano saxophone are drummer Joost Lijbaart, double bassist Ruben Samama and Wolfert Brederode on piano. Their take on Bowie's "Bring Me The Disco King" (recorded by Bowie in 1993 but not released until 2003) captures the sumptuous lyricism of the original, while framing the song in an entirely fresh light. From the album True (Challenge Records, 2012)

3. Bojan Z: "Ashes To Ashes"

Serbian pianist Bojan Z, a long-term resident of France, tackles Bowie's 1980 number 1 hit single "Ashes To Ashes." A highlight among many from the pianist's album Xenophonia (Label Blu, 2006), Z draws out the beauty and the strangeness in this iconic song.

4. Donny McCaslin: "Warszawa"

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin had already been around the block a few times when he came onto David Bowie's radar, having spent four years in Gary Burton's band after graduating from Berklee in 1987. Fast-forward to 2014, Bowie catches McCaslin's band in New York's 55 Bar and, duly impressed, invites them to play on what would be his final album, Blackstar (Sony Music, 2016). Later that year McCaslin released Beyond Now (Motema Music, 2016), which featured Bowie's "Warszawa." This darkly soaring, ambient piece, co-written by Brian Eno, was the opening number on Bowie's 1978 world tour. What a spell it must have cast on unsuspecting audiences! McCaslin, drummer Mark Guiliana, Nate Wood on bass and keyboardist Jason Lindner do the honors.

5. Brad Mehldau: "Life on Mars?"

One of contemporary jazz' most sensitive and intuitive interpreters, pianist Brad Mehldau is as much at home covering Radiohead, The Beatles or Nirvana as he is dissecting jazz standards. From the 4-CD box set10 Years Solo Live (Nonesuch, 2015), Mehldau digs deep on Bowie's "Life on Mars?" from Hunky Dory (RCA, 1971). The pianist on the Bowie original was Rick Wakeman, who would do his own solo version on Piano Portraits (Universal Music Group, 2017).

6. Laila Biali: "Let's Dance"

Multi-award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter/pianist Laila Biali turns to Bowie's "Let's Dance," from his multi-million-selling album of the same name. Biali had half a dozen albums to her name when she made her eponymous debut on Siggi Loch's ACT label (2018). From that album, her bold interpretation of Bowie's mega-hit (here played live) underlines her credentials as a vocalist, pianist and conceptualist of note.

7. Wired Paradise: "Space Oddity"

The second entry on this list to feature Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing, the de facto leader of Wired Paradise. Recorded live in Serbia, Honing is joined by Joost Lijbaart on drums, Mark Haanstra on bass and Stef van Es on guitar. If you like this, check out White Tiger (Jazz In Motion Records, 2010). Recorded live, mostly in Mumbai, the title is inspired by Indian author Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize-winning novel, White Tiger (2008). Both book and album are recommended.

8. Federica Zammarchi: "Lady Grinning Soul"

With Jazz Oddity (La Frontiera, 2011), Italian singer Federica Zammarchi dedicated an entire album to the music of Bowie. "Lady Grinning Soul," one of Bowie's most lyrical and sensuous songs, is given a moody ballad treatment by Zammarchi, with sympathetic accompaniment from pianist Enrico Zanisi, drummer Emanuele Smimmo (mostly on brushes), bassist Marco Sinisalc} and Antonio Jasevoli, whose acoustic guitar quietly sparkles. Zammarchi beguiles with her bluesy shading and soulful delivery.

9. Delta Saxophone Quartet: "The Laughing Gnome"

"The Laughing Gnome" was a novelty single—somewhere between a catchy children's song and Syd Barrett pastiche—that failed to chart for Bowie in 1967. Upon its release in 1973 it climbed as high as number 6 in the UK pop chart, riding the wave of Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" success. Perhaps only an ensemble with the imagination of the Delta Saxophone Quartet could pull off the feat of making this innocuous Bowie tune sound so charming, so vital. On Bowie, Berlin & Beyond (FMR Records, 2018) the DSQ's Graeme Blevins (soprano), Pete Whyman (alto), Tim Holmes (tenor) and Chris Caldwell (baritone) explore Bowie's collaborations with Brian Eno—"The Laughing Gnome" and Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" being the two outliers. A fascinating album of arresting harmonies and riveting interplay.

10. SLIX: "Heroes"

Not a jazz ensemble strictly speaking, but German a cappella sextet SLIXS has played jazz festivals around the world, toured with Bobby McFerrin, and wowed every kind of audience with its lush harmonies, grooving rhythms and improvisational panache. "Heroes" is one of Bowie's most covered songs, with Nico, Peter Gabriel, Coldplay, Oasis, Depeche Mode, Moby, Motörhead, and King Crimson all producing highly personal renditions. But SLIX might just steal the crown for the most original—and most beautiful—version, from the album Playgrounds (Herzog Records, 2017) Katharina Debus, Michael Eiman, Gregorio Hernández, Karsten Müller, Thomas Piontek and Konrad Zeiner—vocal heroes one and all.

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