“When You Wish Upon a Star” was written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington in 1939 for Disney’s “Pinocchio”. The melody is so beautiful that I find it difficult to stray to far from it when improvising.
The song has become an icon of American Culture and has become a jazz standard covered by many artists. My favorite renditions are by Joe Pass and June Christy. Bill Frisell also recently recorded a nice version.
I am playing it on my Benedetto Bucky Pizzarelli model seven string.
It’s interesting how a song from “Pinocchio” became such a lasting jazz standard—I found a related discussion about classic Disney songs and their influence on other genres on https://tinyfun.io/game/blue-blox-2. It makes sense that the melody would be hard to deviate from when improvising, it’s truly beautiful.