The story behind puzzle No. 21
Cannonball Adderley · Somethin' Else · Blue Note · 1958
It started as a French song about dead leaves. On Somethin' Else, it became one of the most famous jazz recordings of a standard, with Miles Davis playing in someone else's band.
Autumn Leaves began as Les Feuilles mortes, composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with lyrics by the poet Jacques Prévert. Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics in 1950. It has been recorded about 1,400 times by jazz musicians alone.
Cannonball Adderley recorded Somethin' Else for Blue Note on March 9, 1958. Miles Davis played trumpet as a sideman, something he rarely did after 1955, and according to the liner notes he chose most of the material. Davis said his approach to Autumn Leaves came from the pianist Ahmad Jamal.
Listen for Miles stating the melody, then for Adderley taking over with his own alto solo. It is Cannonball's album, but Miles's fingerprints are all over it.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Play So What, puzzle No. 1, recorded a year later with Adderley and Davis together again.
As an Amazon Associate, Liner Note earns from qualifying purchases.