‘TIS AUTUMN

My wife and I just got back from the New England States of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to 1) go to a “destination wedding” 2) take in a game at Fenway Park and b) catch at least a part of the fall season. The wedding was a 2 day over the top wing ding, the game was great, but Wrigley is better, and the leaves were just starting to change. After spending a week in New England, I need to have people contact me about a few questions I have:

1)      What is it about Dunkin’ Donuts that they are EVERYWHERE? Are they really that good? Is it the coffee? I just don’t get it!

2)      Same with ice cream: there’s a store every 200 yards, and NONE of them have sugar free.

3)      Is every restaurant on Hanover Street in Boston owned by the Mafia? Each place had only 5-7 tables, and not even filled, but they never go out of business. What are they fronts for?

4)      Why is parking 40 BUCKS at Fenway? Talking about Mafia!

5)      What makes the  pizza dough taste SO GOOD?

6)      Is it possible to keep kosher in NE with all of the ubiquitous shellfish? I think they put lobster in the pancakes!

OK. I got that off my chest. Now for the real part of the article…

The thing I loved most about New England is that you felt like it was autumn. A nice nip in the air, a gentle breeze, leaves turning color, and a man’s heart turns to the best time of the year for sports. Pro football and college football is starting, baseball is going into the playoffs and basketball and hockey are just around the corner. What more can I want? As the Bible says, there is a season for everything, and fall is possibly the best.

So, here are some songs about the fall. Burn these onto a disc, download them, put them on a cassette or pop them into your 8 track, and play them over and over for a seasonal soundtrack. In no particular order:

1)      Autumn Leaves-gotta start with the classic. Nat Cole tears it up, and of course Frank agonizes on it on  Where Are  You? but  a version by Ellington’s orchestra is excellent, and Ben Webster smokes it on the tenor as well. And don’t forget Miles with his Harmon mute!

2)      Autumn in New York-It’s a tossup between Sinatra’s thoughtful read or the cozy version with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

3)      Autumn Serenade-Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane made this one a standard on their classic summit meeting.

4)      When October Goes-this is an underrated gem by Johnny Mercer, and Barry Manilow does a deep version on his disc with Gerry Mulligan.

5)      September Song-Sinatra made an entire album about the September of My Years, and every tune could be on this list. Here’s the one to brood over. However, there’s also a version out there by Jimmy Durante, believe it or not, and it’s fantastic!

6)      September in the Rain-Did Nelson Riddle ever do a better chart? I promise-this is the last song with Sinatra singing!

7)      ‘Tis Autumn-Nat Cole did a great take. A recent one by Stacey Kent is delightful, but the hippest one has to be by Jackie Paris.

8)      Early Autumn-Stan Getz owns this one, with his glorious solo with the Woody Herman Big Band.

9)      This October-here’s an obscure ringer by Bobby Troup, who also gave us “Route 66” and loaned out Julie London once in awhile!

10)   November Twilight-speaking of Julie London…

11)   Autumn-Antonio Vivaldi. Was this the first song from the Great Italian Songbook about the season? Talking about a classic!

12)   November-Tom Wait’s tune deserves a reading by someone else.

13)   (Shine On) Harvest Moon-Don’t laugh! This vaudeville tune was done by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster back in the 50s, and it’s a COOKER!

OK-I lied…

 

 

14)   Summer Wind by Sinatra. Technically not about the fall, but the song takes place AFTER the summer, so it has to be about that season. Besides, the cascading reeds in the intro feel like a breeze from the fall. So, “Sue me, sue me, what can you do me…”