song: Autumn Leaves
artist: Eva Cassidy
album: Live at Blues Alley (1996)
writers: Music by Joseph Kosma (1945) / English lyrics by Johnny Mercer (1947)

steel-stringed acoustic guitar + vocal: Eva Cassidy
acoustic piano: Lenny Williams

This tune was originally composed by French-Hungarian Joseph Kosma in 1945 in France, in collaboration with French lyricist Facques Prévert, writing in his poetic realism-style. No later than 1947, American lyricist Johnny Mercer wrote the condensed set of popularized English lyrics (the original French poem, "Les feuilles mortes" is more elaborate). The song soon became a classic, especially as a standard on the jazz scene, from where it is most know today. This hauntingly slow and simple version by Eva Cassidy really revives the painful realism of the lyrics, and it is one of her absolutely breath-taking vocal performances. Enjoy!