Activities: Cocktail Party

Get dressed up, grab a cocktail, and listen to some upbeat standards by jazz greats from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis and beyond.

Welcome to the world of Ray Charles, where you'll encounter not only monumental cuts from the man who melded blues, soul, country, jazz, and gospel into a harmonious whole, but also some titanic tracks by Brother Ray's influences, peers, and disciples.

Settle into the hip, cool lounge of a trendy European hotel with these stylish tunes. Order a cocktail and let the evening take you away.

This playlist takes you back to a time when Sinatra was king, men wore suits, and everyone swilled martinis like the world was going to end in nuclear winter. Thankfully, it didn't, and the swingin' lounge music of the era lives on.

Sinatra's artistry is so all-encompassing you could easily spend your entire life listening to no one else. But even the most fanatical Frank lovers might want to mix it up once in a while, so here's a batch of vocalists bound to appeal to admirers of Ol' Blue Eyes.

From World War II through the early '60s, The Golden Age of Big Band Jazz brought us some of the greatest interpreters of song, arguably ever. This velvet sound was the stuff of legend.

Trumpeter and singer Chet Baker came out of the first flowering of the West Coast school of cool modern jazz in the early 1950s. This playlist explores that time and place, with a particular emphasis on languid ballads.

Coined by visual artist Byron Werner in the 1980s, Space Age Bachelor Pad music encompasses the hi-fi aesthetic of the 1950s and early '60s. Beloved by even its most tongue-in-cheek fans, let this playlist soundtrack your next sexy party.

Listen to upbeat world music that will transport you and your guests around the globe.

For a period in the late '50s and early '60s, Blue Note was the most stylish label in jazz. The music brought both soul and a questing sense of experimentation to bebop, and Reid Miles' gorgeous LP designs remain influential to this day.

Beginning during World War II, bebop signaled the end of the big band swing era and the birth of modern jazz. Enjoy this introduction to the style, focusing on the post-war era when bebop was in its prime

Get intimate with these lushly arranged records full of artful elegance -- from idiosyncratic alt-pop to moody soul and cool, classy balladry.

Originating in the 1950s, bossa nova (Portugese for "new trend") combined harmonies and rhythms from American jazz with Brazilian samba. Now these songs have become standard jazz repertoire.

The barrio meets black power in the coolest vintage Latin soul and boogaloo tracks.

Celebrate the return of one of television's best shows with this playlist of every song to be featured on the hit series.

Classic female blues singers from the 1920s through the '50s, from the lowdown dirty Beale Street blues to the sanctified gospel of the storefront churches.

Sometimes all you need is a rousing song to get yourself out of a rut. Take inspiration from some of the all-time great pop vocalists and c'mon, get happy!

With the onset of Prohibition, the country went dry and the party moved underground. Revisit American pop music's salad days, when ragtime was morphing into dixieland jazz and the first recordings of rural blues were being heard in major cities.

Afro-Cuban dance music turns up the heat on the African influence present in most Cuban music, embracing it's visceral syncopation, polyrhythms, and shout and response vocals.

Characterized by its lush vocal harmonies, "doomph, doomph" bass lines, group snapping, and high falsetto, doo-wop was one of the most popular musical styles of the '50s and '60s.

Essential recordings from the 1930s and 40s Swing-era big bands, which featured upwards of 12 musicians. During their heyday, big bands produced America's most popular dance music.

The islands call with this mix of hip-swaying Hawaiian classics, contemporary singers, and tunes for ukelele or slack-key guitar for that luau state of mind.

Don't fight it, feel it! In the 1960s, gospel music met secular lyrics describing the black experience in America, and soul music was born. '60s soul singers demanded respect, begged for love, and told it like it was, changing popular music forever.

Commonly referred to as jazz hop or jazz rap, this subgenre combines jazz samples with hip hop beats.

While At An Unusual Party With Interesting People...Feeling Good Flying.

It's mambo time with the best of the Cuban big band era. Explore the music that inspired dancemania in Havana and around the world.

Say bonjour to French pop from the 1960s, also known as "ye-ye." This sexy, cosmopolitan sound rose to popularity with the mod movement that swept Europe and landed on American shores.

Pioneered in the late '50s, exotica is easy-listening lounge music that draws upon world music, but doesn't aim for authentic replication. Instead, exotica's purpose is lightweight entertainment that conjures images of foreign paradises.

Since the late 1950s, bossa nova has entranced listeners around the world. Enjoy over five decades' worth of music from Brazil and beyond, all influenced by the languid sensuality that began on Ipanema beach.

This bop-leaning selection of vintage jazz features the unique and unmistakable pianist/composer Thelonious Monk, as well as many of his esteemed associates.

Various artists cover songs in the repertoire of the charismatic and prolific composer/pianist/bandleader Duke Ellington, one of the most revered figures in jazz history.

The border crossing, culture bending, style- shifting sound of today's Latin music.

Herbie Hancock is one of the most creatively restless and prolific artists in jazz history. He's presented here in phases ranging from post-bop to electronic pop, alongside many of his influences and contemporaries.

Turn any old room into a trendy cocktail lounge with this jet-setting collection of swank, laid-back grooves.

The perfect combination of Afro-Cuban rhythms and American jazz, from the Havana jam sessions where the style was born to its international exodus.

A genre that originated in Eastern Europe, electro-swing combines the classic swing sounds of the 1930s with house and electronic beats. This'll get your body moving, big daddy.