AUTUMN LEAVES

Nat King Cole sings "Autumn Leaves." This classic was originally a French song called "Les feuilles mortes" (literally "Dead Leaves"), with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, but we're more familiar with the English lyrics written by American songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1947. "Autumn Leaves" has become a standard in pop and jazz music and has been recorded all over the world. I know it still feels like summertime (we expect 91 degrees today!) but soon summer will fade and the leaves will change, the days will grow shorter and there will be a nip in the air, and you will be humming this unforgettable tune while raking les feuilles mortes.

"Les feuilles mortes," introduced by Yves Montand in the film Les Portes de la Nuit (1946).

NEVERMORE!

Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849), short story writer, novelist, poet, and perennial favorite around Halloween. One of the earliest practitioners of the short story, Poe is also credited with inventing the detective mystery, but his stock-in-trade was the macabre: The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Premature Burial, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Tell-Tale Heart. Poe's death was befittingly mysterious, and has been attributed to a variety of causes, including alcoholism, cholera, tuberculosis, drug abuse, and suicide.

I painted his portrait because I've always liked Poe, but confess I first encountered his work in those cheesy 1960s adaptations starring Vincent Price. As I later learned, the films played fast and loose with the stories and sometimes ignored them completely, so it's worth reading the originals some dark night.

Vincent Price still creeps me out. Here, he reads "The Raven."



In "Vincent," a short animated film by Tim Burton, a boy wants to be Vincent Price. The story is narrated by Vincent Price, too. Makes sense.

AUTUMN LEAVES

The seasons are changing


Just because. The great Nat King Cole sings "Autumn Leaves."

Another take on "Autumn Leaves" by Miles Davis in 1964.

Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - tenor sax
Herbie Hancock - piano
Ron Carter - bass
Tony Williams - drums