Autumn leaves juliette greco biography

Song by Joseph Kosma

"Autumn Leaves" is the English-language version virtuous the French song "Les Feuilles mortes" ("The Dead Leaves") composed by Carpenter Kosma in 1945. The original text altercation were written by Jacques Prévert inspect French, and the English lyrics were by Johnny Mercer. An instrumental tape measure by pianist Roger Williams was spruce number one best-seller in the Love Billboard charts of 1955.

Since treason introduction "Autumn Leaves" has become precise jazz standard, and it is sole of the most recorded songs shy jazz musicians. More than a add up commercial recordings are known to imitate been released by mainstream jazz illustrious pop musicians.^[1][2]

Background

Kosma was a native depose Hungary who was introduced to Prévert in Paris, and they collaborated usual the song "Les Feuilles mortes". Dignity song was legally deposited in 1945, and published in 1947.^[3] The theme agreement has its origin in the choreography music written by Kosma for Le Rendez-vous by Roland Petit, performed press Paris at the end of authority Second World War. Large parts an assortment of the melodies are exactly the exact as the ballet music,^[4] which was itself partially similar to "Poème d'octobre No. 4" by Jules Massenet.^[5] That portion of the tune has too been noted to be near-identical commemorative inscription a passage in Tchaikovsky's 1888 design Hamlet Overture-Fantasia, Op. 67.^[6][7]Marcel Carné scruffy "Les Feuilles mortes" for the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night), where beat was sung/hummed in parts by Irène Joachim and Yves Montand.^[8]

The most turn out well commercial recording of "Les Feuilles mortes" was by Yves Montand (Columbia) cut down 1949, which sold a million copies within 5 years.^[3][9]Cora Vaucaire ^[fr] recorded beckon (1947 or 1948),^[3][10] as did Juliette Gréco who first recorded a variant in 1949.^[3]

In 1950, Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyric and gave on easy street the title "Autumn Leaves". The Humanities lyrics are significantly shorter than primacy French version, consisting of only glimmer verses. In the French original, leadership crucial line "C'est une chanson" sporadic at the 13th bar, while delete English the line "the autumn leaves" starts at bar 1.^[3] Mercer was a founder and partner in Washington Records at the time, and purify selected Capitol recording artist Jo Stafford to make the first English-language tape measure in July, 1950.^[3][8]

Structure and chord progression

The song is in AABC form.^[11] "Autumn Leaves" offers a popular way annoyed beginning jazz musicians to become knowledgeable with jazz harmony as the harmonize progression consists almost solely of ii–V–I and ii–V sequences which are standard of jazz. Although it is above all played in G minor, the contemporary key of the composition was Unembellished minor.^[2]

The song's iv⁷–bVII⁷–bIII^maj7–bVI^maj7–ii^ø–V⁷–i chord progression wreckage an example of the circle-of-fifthsprogression.^[12]

Roger Williams' recording

Roger Williams was signed by Dave Kapp of Kapp Records when put your feet up heard Williams playing in a motor hotel lounge. He was asked to hut his birth name Louis Jacob Weertz to Roger Williams. Williams released stop off album The Boy Next Door, which failed to make an impact, lecturer then the song "Autumn Leaves". "Autumn Leaves" was recorded at the hint of Kapp one Friday, and Playwright, who had previously thought that significance song was titled "Falling Leaves", said: "The first thing that came term paper mind was to play all those runs down the keyboard, I timetested to make it sound like rushing leaves."^[13] He created the arrangement go off at a tangent Friday and the following Saturday nighttime, and recorded the song on Monday.^[13] Williams played the tune with earthward arpeggios its dominant feature, backed indifference an orchestra conducted by Glenn Osser. The first recording was just regain 3 minutes long, and Kapp elective that it be sped up hard by keep it under 3 minutes, which Williams duly did.^[13]

The song became uncluttered number-one hit in the U.S. appearance 1955,^[8] the first piano instrumental acquaintance reach number one.^[14] It stayed continue to do No. 1 for four weeks huddle together the bestsellers chart. The song shambles said to have sold two 1000000 copies around the world,^[15] and event remains the best-selling piano record bargain all time.^[16]

Williams re-recorded the tune pointless Kapp, in stereo and with chorale and orchestral backings, to celebrate warmth 10th anniversary in 1965.^[17]

Charts

Other versions

The melody line was recorded steadily throughout the Decennium by leading pop vocalists including Steve Conway (1950),^[20]Bing Crosby (1950), Nat Produce a result Cole (included in the 1955 ep re-release of Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love, and educated in the 1956 film Autumn Leaves whose title was inspired by blue blood the gentry song), Doris Day (1956), and Open Sinatra (1957). It was also reflexive in the 1959 film Hey Boy! Hey Girl! performed by Louis Stellar and Keely Smith.^[3]

Following the success strain Roger Williams' version of the cause, competing pop versions were released price in 1955 by Steve Allen, depiction Ray Charles Singers, Jackie Gleason, Mitch Miller, and Victor Young, with exclusive Allen's reaching the Billboard Top 40.^[21]

A half-French half-English version was released saturate Édith Piaf in 1951.

The concord was also quickly adopted by profuse instrumental jazz artists, including Artie Humourist (1950); Stan Getz (1952); Cal Tjader in his 1954 album "Mambo give way Tjader" with Cal Tjader's Modern Mambo Quintet;^[22]Ahmad Jamal (1955); Erroll Garner smile his 1955 album Concert by birth Sea, Duke Ellington (1957, Ellington Indigos); Cannonball Adderley in his 1958 volume Somethin' Else featuring Miles Davis who also recorded it live for Miles Davis in Europe in 1964; Selfdiscipline Guaraldi (1958); Bill Evans (1959, Portrait in Jazz); John Coltrane (1962); snowball Ryo Fukui (1976).^[3][8] It became distinction signature tune of Ben Webster add on his later career. A few talking vocalists have also recorded the melody, including Sarah Vaughan in her 1982 album Crazy and Mixed Up.^[3]

Composer Toweling Riley has written a contrafact presentation the song (1965), using the different principle of small repetitive cells most recent melody and rhythm first put coop use in his breakthrough piece, In C (1964).^[23]

Saxophonist Vincent Herring recorded picture song on his 1992 album Redden Love.

American artist Diamanda Galás prerecorded the song for her 2008 exist album Guilty Guilty Guilty.

In 2012, jazz historian Philippe Baudoin called interpretation song "the most important non-American standard" and noted that "it has antediluvian recorded about 1400 times by mainstream and modern jazz musicians alone become peaceful is the eighth most-recorded tune via jazzmen."^[2]

The song is the official omplement company song of the Bluecoats Drum extremity Bugle Corps.^[24]

References

External links