Daddy Sell, our high school choral director with the jazz moniker, loved this song. From my freshman year, the start of school meant covering “Autumn Leaves” with an almost pledge-of-allegiance regularity, until Daddy moved on to something else or you couldn’t really call it autumn anymore. Hey—I loved it too.
It was, of course, the French “Les feuilles mortes” (Jacques Prévert, Joseph Kosma), then Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics. A floating-head a capella French version can be found by clicking here.
I don’t know how many covers I have in my collection, but there are two I listen to a lot. One—the fastest I’ve ever heard—is by Bill Evans. More often than not, when I head for Martini Lounge (aka my living room) at happy hour, a Bill Evans CD is the first thing I’ll play. I am in utter awe of him. Maybe someday I’ll attempt words about that awe, but it’s possible I will never be successful. Trust me. I’m in awe.
Possibly the slowest I’ve ever heard is the one by Eva Cassidy. Her cover of this song rips your heart out, stomps on it with stiletto heels, makes subsequent passersby see it there on the sidewalk and think, “Ew.” But it’s worth it.
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5 comments:
this song thing is really teaching me what a bad memory I have for names of songs and artists. This one doesn't ring a bell, but maybe when I listen to it tomorrow, I'll remember it.
Eve Cassidy surfaces again.I'll have to get one of her CDs.
I tend to confine my martini drinking to Shay Foo Foo's martini lounge, but maybe I should open my mind to closer venues, like the living room.
Helen: The beauty of Martini Lounge is that it's martini optional. Likely more wine is aired there than anything else.
Now I want to check out Shay Foo Foo.
Me too, Helen. I just listened to her version of this song and it was beautiful. I think the best thing to come of these blogs is my introduction to Eva.
(Now let's see if this sucker will post...)
I have this on an Eva cd.
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