Chiemi Eri -- Autumn Leaves

 

We in the Northern Hemisphere are still several days away from the official beginning to autumn, but it was pretty cool this morning when I went out and so I figure that some of the leaves in the trees are considering a change in colour. Maybe it is indeed time to order those Pumpkin Lattes.

Let's then start this round of KKP today with something appropriate. "Autumn Leaves" is a jazz and pop standard which I've usually heard as a mournful instrumental and according to Wikipedia, it started out as a French song, "Les Feuilles mortes" (The Dead Leaves), composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. Given English lyrics by Johnny Mercer, the man behind "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses", it became a No. 1 hit on Billboard back in 1955 when it was performed by pianist Roger Williams. 

Singer Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）gave her own sultry and smoky version of "Autumn Leaves", which was translated into Japanese as "Kareha"（枯葉...Dead Leaves）, as a track on her May 1959 album "Chiemi no Standard Album"（チエミのスタンダード・アルバム）. Assisted by jazz musician/songwriter Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）on piano and Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats（原信夫とシャープスアンドフラッツ）, there is a nice contrast between the moody jazz that could befit a film noir and the delicate harp perhaps symbolizing the leaves falling off the trees. 

Allow me to finish off with a ten-minute version by the incomparable Vince Guaraldi. There's even a brief cameo of one of his other masterpieces of the season near the end.