I have made great friends since moving to Chicago. More than a couple of them have a wicked sense of humor.

I went to see my friends’ band KW3 a few days ago. I hadn’t seen them perform since before my back surgery. They weren’t expecting to see me that evening, as I had tickets for another show.

Surprisingly, my show ended earlier than anticipated. It turned out I had time to catch my boys and check out their third set. So, I made my way there.

The look on their faces when I walked into the tavern was worth the price of admission (even though there was no cover charge). They were genuinely shocked and glad to see me. It will warm my heart for quite some time.

I hadn’t fully settled into my seat at the bar when I heard the strains of a familiar song. They were playing jazz standard called “Autumn Leaves.” They were playing it for me. Because they knew it would make me crazy.

Allow me to explain.

For the uninitiated, a jazz “standard” is a song so well known and admired, nearly every artist knows how to play it. Wedding bands might equate it with “Mustang Sally,” a tune they’re pretty much obligated to play at every reception. It’s ubiquitous. Calling for “Autumn Leaves” at a jazz club is like yelling “Freebird” at a rock show.

For me, it’s an instant eye roll. Although this time, I thought it was funny. Because I knew what my friends were doing. And I love a good running joke!

It’s not that I think “Autumn Leaves” is a bad song, because it isn’t. It’s just … overplayed. WAAAAY overplayed. When I started exploring jazz in the eighties, I explored dozens of artists. It seemed like they ALL played “Autumn Leaves.” I haven’t heard any other standard played as much as this one.

The first time I heard “Autumn Leaves,” it was played by Wynton Marsalis. Like everything else he does, the song was well played. It had a nice groove, and Marsalis’s band settled into it quickly and comfortably.

One of my earliest jazz obsessions was Miles Davis. Had he ever played “Autumn Leaves”? You betcha! In fact, the rendition he recorded with Julian “Cannonball” Adderly is considered iconic.

For quite some time, I was enamored with the guitar of Stanley Jordan. His unconventional tapping style made for fascinating ways for a guitarist to execute a melody. And, of course, he had taken a crack at “Autumn Leaves” that also reached “iconic” status.

Bill Evans was one of my dad’s favorite jazz musicians. He had a touch on the piano possessed by few others before or since. What are the odds he recorded “Autumn Leaves”? Why, it’s an absolute certainty!

I wondered, just how many times had “Autumn Leaves” been recorded by jazz artists? I figured it had to be at least a couple hundred. Well, I was wrong.

According to Google, “Autumn Leaves” has been recorded no less than 1,400 times! I don’t know whom, if anyone, is collecting the publishing royalties, but I’m thinking about hitting them up for a loan.

Lest we think “Autumn Leaves” was reserved for instrumentalists, there are more than a few vocal versions of the song, too. Frank Sinatra recorded it. So did Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, and Ella Fitzgerald. But the Iconic Status Award goes to Nat “King” Cole, whose rendition is considered the best.

The bottom line? There is no escaping “Autumn Leaves.” It will stand the test of time. No doubt the survivors of a nuclear holocaust will be Keith Richards, cockroaches, Twinkies, and “Autumn Leaves.” I might as well accept it.

As it happens, I have a very nice jazz guitar I don’t spend nearly enough time with. I’m looking to change that in the coming days. I owe it to myself to learn some basic theory in order to take on a few jazz standards. Will “Autumn Leaves” be one of them?

Yeah … it probably will.

#cirdecsongs

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