Vernon Duke, music and lyrics · Finale of the Broadway revue Thumbs Up!, 1934
Autumn in New York
Vernon Duke wrote Autumn in New York, words and music, in 1934, and a Broadway revue ended with it. Players like its wistful mood and a middle that wanders through several before coming home. Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Frank Sinatra recorded it, and Bill Evans played it solo in 1963.
Listen in this order
Three singers come first: Richard Himber's 1934 dance band, Billie Holiday in 1952 and Frank Sinatra in 1957. Five records without words follow, from Charlie Parker's saxophone with an orchestra to Bill Evans alone at the piano.
1930sRichard Himber and His Orchestra, vocal by Joey Nash1934
1940s
1950sBillie Holiday1952 · Swing
Charlie Parker with Joe Lippman's Orchestra1952 · Bebop
Frank Sinatra, arranged and conducted by Billy May1957 · Vocal
Stan Getz and Chet Baker1958 · Bebop
The Ahmad Jamal Trio1958 · Post-bop
George Russell1959 · Big band
1960sBill Evans1963 · Post-bop
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Hear the song as it first came out
Richard Himber and His Orchestra, vocal by Joey Nash · 1934
Autumn in New York
Richard Himber's orchestra recorded the song for Victor in New York on 5 December 1934, with Joey Nash singing, about three weeks before the revue Thumbs Up! opened on 27 December. Victor issued it as 24823.
Sung versions
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Listen for
Joey Nash sings the tune with a dance band behind him. The record lasts under three minutes, the shortest on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the chart with two beats for each : , , Gm7, Am7 . Smaller version: play one chord per bar: Gm7, B♭6, Fmaj7, Am7.
Billie Holiday recorded the song in Los Angeles in April 1952 with Charlie Shavers on trumpet, Flip Phillips on tenor saxophone and Oscar Peterson on piano. Clef issued it in 1954, on a single with If the Moon Turns Green and on the LP Billie Holiday.
Sung versions
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Listen for
A six-piece band of trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, guitar, bass and drums plays behind Billie Holiday. Compare this small group with the dance band on the first record.
Try it on your instrument
Hum the tune while you play one per of the first eight bars of the chart: , , , , Gm7, B♭6, , . Smaller version: play only the first four.
Frank Sinatra, arranged and conducted by Billy May · 1957 · Vocal
Come Fly with Me
Sinatra recorded the song with Axel Stordahl in 1947 and returned to it in October 1957 for Capitol, with Billy May arranging and conducting. Capitol released that version on Come Fly with Me on 6 January 1958.
Orchestra settings
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Listen for
Frank Sinatra sings with an orchestra that Billy May arranged and conducted. The record lasts 4:38, well over a minute longer than the 1934 one.
Try it on your instrument
Play 9 to 12 of the chart: , , E♭7, A♭maj7 . The leave the of F here. Smaller version: play only the Gm7 and the A♭maj7.
Charlie Parker with Joe Lippman's Orchestra · 1952 · Bebop
Charlie Parker Big Band
Charlie Parker recorded the song with Joe Lippman's orchestra in New York on 22 January 1952. Mercury first issued it as the 78 rpm record 11088, and the LP Charlie Parker Big Band followed in 1954.
Orchestra settings
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Listen for
Parker plays alto saxophone out front while trumpets, trombones, more saxophones and a harp play behind him. The record lasts 3:31.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last two of the first of the chart, and , and then the that opens B. Smaller version: play only the move from Am7♭5 to D7♭9.
“Medley: Autumn in New York / Embraceable You / What's New”, Stan Meets Chet
Stan Getz and Chet Baker recorded a three-song medley that opens with Autumn in New York in Chicago on 16 February 1958. Verve issued it on the album Stan Meets Chet.
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Listen for
Getz on tenor saxophone and Baker on trumpet play over piano, bass and drums. The tune leads into Embraceable You and What's New, and the whole piece lasts 14:29, the longest on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play 17 to 20 of the chart: , , Gm7, Am7 . Smaller version: play only the Gm7, B♭6 and Fmaj7.
Ahmad Jamal's trio recorded the song live at the Spotlite Club in Washington, D.C., in September 1958. Argo released it on Volume IV, Jamal's first record after the hit At the Pershing: But Not for Me.
Piano trio and solo piano
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Listen for
Piano, bass and drums play at a club, and the record lasts just over three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody of the first with the right hand and one bass note per with the left: G, B♭, F, A, G, B♭, A, D. Smaller version: play only those eight bass notes.
George Russell and His Orchestra · 1959 · Big band
“East Side Medley: Autumn in New York / How About You”, New York, N.Y.
George Russell recorded the East Side Medley in New York on 25 March 1959, with Bill Evans on piano and Art Farmer among the trumpets. Decca released it on the album New York, N.Y.
Orchestra settings
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Listen for
The piece joins Autumn in New York to a second song, How About You, and runs 8:02. Bill Evans is the pianist in the orchestra.
Try it on your instrument
Play 21 to 24 of the chart, where the music turns darker: , , , . Smaller version: play only the E♭m6 and the B♭m6.
“Medley: Autumn in New York / How About You?”, The Solo Sessions, Vol. 2
Bill Evans played the medley alone at the piano in New York on 10 January 1963. Milestone released the solo session in 1991 as The Solo Sessions, Vol. 2.
Piano trio and solo piano
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Listen for
Evans plays alone for 6:22 and joins Autumn in New York to a second song, How About You.
Try it on your instrument
Play 29 to 31 of the chart slowly: , , then . Smaller version: play only the B♭m6 and the Fm.
Vernon Duke writes the song in 1934, and it serves as the finale of the Broadway revue Thumbs Up!, which opens on 27 December. Richard Himber's orchestra, with Joey Nash singing, records it for Victor in New York on 5 December.
1950s
Charlie Parker plays it with an orchestra in January 1952, and Billie Holiday sings it with a small band that April. Ahmad Jamal's trio plays it live at a Washington club in September 1958.
1960s
Bill Evans plays it alone at the piano in New York in January 1963, joined to How About You. Milestone releases that solo session in 1991.
1970s
Lou Donaldson records it in December 1972 with a group that includes a harp and a vibraphone. Blue Note releases it in 1973 on Sophisticated Lou.
1990s
Mark Turner's quartet plays it on his self-titled Warner Bros. album, recorded in 1995 and released in 1998.
More great versions
2 more, from 1972 to 1995. Tap a cover to play it here.
Lou Donaldson recorded the song in New York on 8 December 1972 with a small group that included a harp and vibraphone, and string and flute parts were added on 18 December. Blue Note released it in 1973 on Sophisticated Lou.
Mark Turner's quartet plays the song on his self-titled Warner Bros. album, recorded in 1995 and released in 1998. The lineup is Turner on tenor saxophone, Edward Simon on piano, Christopher Thomas on bass and Brian Blade on drums.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
F majorusual key
32 barsA · B · C · D form
F · G m · A♭ · C m · C · B♭ m · F m · D♭keys it moves between
A8 bars
B8 bars
C8 bars
D8 bars
F
G m
A♭
C m
C
F
B♭ m
F m
D♭
F m
The runs 32 in four sections of eight, and no section repeats exactly: A, B, C, D. A opens in with , , Gm7 and Am7 , repeats the first two bars, then turns toward with and D7♭9. B starts on Gm7, moves through to , reaches with Am7♭5 and , rests on , and Am7 leads back. C begins like A, with Gm7 Am7, B♭6 C7, Fmaj7 Gm7 and Am7 D7 , then darkens through Cm7 , , and C7. D is in : , Fm7 , A♭7 and D♭maj7 D♭7, then Gm7 Am7, B♭m6 C7♭9 and two bars of F minor, the last ending on D7♭9. These come from the iReal Pro chart on this page.