Origin:

Introduced in in the 1946 film Les Portes De La Nuit.

Style:

Introduced at a slow pulse, it is most commonly played swung and has come to be taken at a wide variety of tempos.

Form:

A-A-B-C (32 Bars) [8-8-8-8]

Verse:

The  original release in 1949 by Yves Montand features an introductory  verse, although this is the only instance that it is included in a  recording. It has not yet been adapted to English.

Key:

The two most common keys are G minor and E minor.

Harmony/Overview:

The  harmony of this composition is very functional and remains almost  entirely diatonic. The A sections begins on IImi7 of the relative Major  and the harmony proceeds to cycle through diatonic fourths before  returning back to Imi. The melody is also built around a diatonic  pattern which fits together seamlessly with the harmony, constantly  landing on the 3rds of each chord at the end of each phrase. The bridge  begins with a minor II - V to VImi and continues similarly to the  previous A sections. The C section also begins with a minor II - V to  VImi but instead continues with a III - VI - II - V of IVMaj7 before  resolving back to the tonic minor one last time.

Recordings:

This  song has been recorded over 1000 times and has become one of the most  popular jazz standards of all time. Yves Montand was the first to  introduce "Autumn Leaves" as "Les Feuilles Mortes" in the 1946 film Les Portes de la Nuit,  and he was also the first to record it in the studio in 1949. It has  since been recorded by virtually every prominent jazz musician at some  point in their career and it continues to be performed frequently to  this day, particularly at jam sessions.

JGC Top Picks:

Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, 1958

Bill Evans, Portrait In Jazz, 1959

Joe Henderson & Wynton Kelly, Four!, 1968