Oracle's Light- At the Principle Gallery
Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short
When you reach September
When the Autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days
I'll spend with you
These precious days
I'll spend with you
-- September Song, Kurt Weil/ Maxwell Anderson
The first day of September ii generally one of my favorite days of the year. That's mainly because it means that I have made it through another dreaded August and that I can let out a sigh of relief and begin that slow walk into autumn.
While all the seasons have their charms, I consider myself an autumn person. The slowing of pace, the coolness of the air, the angle of the light, the colors in the trees, the smell of soil and leaves, and the continued shortening of days-- it all combines to blend well with that part of my personality defined by a wistful melancholy.
And this has become even more pronounced as I move through the autumn of my own life, as though that September feeling and my own timeline have finally converged. It feels natural and comfortable.
Another thing that makes September first a favorite day is that it means that will generally listen to several versions of September Song, the great Kurt Weil/ Maxwell Anderson song that was written for and first recorded by Walter Huston, of all people, for the 1938 Broadway play Knickerbocker Holiday in which he plays an aging Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam (present day New York) in the 1600's.
Though the show didn't do well and the fact that the song was written for Huston's limited vocal range, it has become a standard that has been recorded by countless and widely varied artists through the years. I play a version of September Song every year on this day and have played the better-known versions as well as some that are lesser known. All are pretty darn good.
Today I am sharing an instrumental rendition from the late great jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, who beautifully captures the song.
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