Summer's over, in case you hadn't noticed (for some of us, most notably here in the upper Midwest, we didn't really have a summer this year, but it's not as if we're bitter about it or anything). Fall is rolling in, a time of crisp evening air and the lush rainbow of colors as the leaves slowly turn. When I moved from Oklahoma to Wisconsin the one thing I immediately enjoyed was the sense of seasonal shift: yes, the winter is far too long, but there is still the opportunity to see the seasons change and to experience the emotional ebbs and flows that come as the temperatures change and the world moves from green to technicolor to white and back again.

This jazz anthology wants to "sing (and swing)" with the sense of autumn. Karrin Allyson watches a blanket of "Autumn Leaves" fall, while Charile Byrd experiences "Autumn in New York." Mel Torme offers up a little "Autumn Serenade" (unlike Harry, the judge on Night Court, I'm not a big Mel Torme fan, but hey, it's only one song, right?). There's the gentle melancholy of "When October Goes" and Tony Bennett singing "Maybe September," along with the wet warmth of "September in the Rain."

Music is ultimately about emotion, and autumn is arguably a season for reflection, be it simple introspection or the giving of thanks for the harvest of the prior season or the thoughtful examination of what the future might hold (including winter!). There's something infectiously pleasant about this CD, with a great collection of artists performing a wide variety of songs which all feature variations on that retrospective theme, be it through melancholy longing or gentle romantic reminisces.

As a movie fanatic of sorts, I generally agree with the notion that life is better with a soundtrack. This CD makes a great one for lazy fall days. It isn't the kind of jazz that necessarily gets you pulse up or your fingers snapping, but it's definitely a soothing companion for a rainy fall day, a excellent disc of tunes for spinning in the background as you watch the rain dance against the windowpane and listen to it slowly soak the autumn world with its gray haze.