Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Early Autumn" was composed by Ralph Burns (co-credited with Woody Herman) and grew out of the fourth movement of Burns's concert suite "Summer Sequence." It was recorded by Herman's Second Herd in December 1947 and released on Capitol Records in 1948. Johnny Mercer later added lyrics in 1952, establishing the tune as both an instrumental and vocal standard.

The piece is distinguished by its Impressionistic reed-section writing, with a cool, lyrical sound that evokes the wistful mood of early autumn. The melody unfolds in long, graceful lines carried by the saxophone ensemble, creating a lush harmonic texture that forms the heart of the composition. For improvisers, the tune rewards a patient, ballad-oriented approach that preserves the introspective, melancholy atmosphere of the original arrangement, demanding subtlety and tonal refinement rather than technical flash.

The standout feature of the original recording is Stan Getz's brief but revelatory eight-bar tenor saxophone solo, whose lyrical beauty and luminous tone caused an immediate sensation and launched the 22-year-old Getz to stardom. The piece also served as the theme of Willis Conover's Voice of America radio program for over a decade, introducing jazz to millions of listeners worldwide.