Compatible Quotes: Autumn

i originally got that album as a sinatra fan, but i have to thank it for making me an ellington fan as well. it was hard for a generation x'er like myself to dig the earlier (& somewhat poorly recorded) ellingtonia, but his 60s records just sound a lot fresher to my ears. "afro bossa," "the far east suite" & "his mother called him bill" have all been spinning on my turntable lately.

(Billy May wrote the arrangements for that album. Chatting with Ellington not long after it came out, I mentioned that it would be nice if he and Sinatra did another album, this time with arrangements by Ellington. He seemed surprised by the idea. "That would be interesting," he said, raising an eyebrow. And that was the end of that. -- DR)

honorable mention must go to the exquisite ellington/sinatra version of "indian summer," from their collaborative 1967 album on reprise, with a killer johnny hodges solo.

Memorable versions of "Early Autumn" do seem to be thin on the ground. Stan Getz made his bones on that gorgeous Summer Sequence p.s., but the only sung version that sticks in my mind so many years later was by... yes, it's true... Johnny Mathis, his plummy style caressing every word. (Did the Hi-Los maybe interpret it too?)

(Try Carole Sloane's version in her CD "The Real Thing" -- DR)

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Thing-Carol-Sloane/dp/B000000XAC

'Early Autumn' I remember as a kid. Was it a Woody Herman recording? God, I thought it was a beautiful piece. I still do, although never hear it anymore. Who has done the definite recording of 'Early Autumn?'* Or is there one?

*(Woody Herman:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Woody-Herman/dp/B000000CXO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254089672&sr=1-4

-- DR)

Are there any more beautiful songs than "Indian Summer" and its sort-of companion-piece, "Early Autumn"? (Of course... "Summertime," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Lush Life," and any others each music fan cares to nominate.) Well, then make it songs of the Fall season.

But the quotes you selected, and Mercer's lyrics, and most writing about the wonders of Fall at some point and in some measure echo little old Johnny Keats and his "Ode to Autumn," with lovely images that might even become lyrics in the hands of the right composer. Outmoded diction, late 18th century language and all, Keats' poem is still the standard.

(The Keats poem is here: http://www.bartleby.com/106/255.html -- DR)