Early Autumn

Original song composed by Ralph Burns, pianist/arranger for the Woody Herman Band. Herman is also credited, as bandleaders often were, so how much of a collaboration the song was, is questionable. The melody came from the final minute of Burns' "Summer Sequence", recorded with The Woody Herman Band a few years earlier and expanded upon in this hit instrumental (1949):

This is my favorite arrangement of the piece, by Stan Kenton. The dreamy horn lines mimic the wind swirling around on an Autumn day:

There are lyrics to this song and written at some point by, arguably the best lyricist of all time, Johnny Mercer. First notable vocal version of this song comes from Jo Stafford in 1952, backed by The Paul Weston Orchestra:

Another good vocal is found on Johnny Mathis' second studio album "Wonderful, Wonderful", released in 1957:

The man who takes the tenor sax solo in the original Woody Herman hit, was a very young Stan Getz, whose career took off with the success of the song, and he formed his own orchestras and combos from then on. This is one of his versions, possibly recorded in the early sixties:

Ella Fitzgerald recorded a nice vocal version for Decca, in '51-'52, but not sure if it was released or if it charted. She recorded this version, perhaps the definitive one, for the verve album tribute to the Johnny Mercer Songbook in 1964. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra accompanies: