Anything can be jazz…. really?
There are tunes that are so deeply rooted in a style that trying to play them as a jazz tune doesn’t work well. I’m not saying that it should not be done. It’s an interesting styling exercise that requires some talent and taste. Improvising using jazzy lines on a tune doesn’t make the tune a jazz tune. The song has to be adapted for the jazz improvisation to fit (more likely some chord and/or rhythmic arrangement ) otherwise it may taste like a bad cocktail made with not compatible ingredients.
The more I listen to the great jazz musician, the more I realise how much work is behind their music. It’s clear that sometimes they pick a song because it’s a popular song and because of it they may be able to pull some more listeners to them. A marketing exercice, the one example I have in mind is the version “Stop this train” by John Mayer played by Joshua Redman… is it working? As much as Redman is a great musician, I think he should have just left this song because it just sounds like “musique d’ascenseur” (the music that is played in a lift, dull).