april in paris or autumn in new york: a Vernon Duke poll

"april in paris" gets points for monk's brilliant 1947 version and bud powell's equally brilliant 1950 version, just really incredible and beautiful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO5GkdvuNFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWUSk4nmDbo

"autumn in new york" is interesting in that vernon duke penned the words himself and still managaed to pull off something worthy of his frequent lyricist collaborators (yip harburg, ira gershwin, johnny mercer), with lines like:

Jaded roués
And gay divorcées
Who lunch at the Ritz
Will tell you that it's
Divine

and

Autumn in New York
Why does it seem so inviting?
Autumn in New York
It spells the thrill of first-nighting
Glittering crowds
And shimmering clouds
In canyons of steel;
They're making me feel:
I'm home

it also notable for the rendition by billie holiday, linked in OP, which i find to be exceptionally beautiful.

of course, "april in paris" has this going for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzKUVsHL7ac
scene from Blazing Saddles, featuring Count Basie and his Orchestra

on the other hand, ted gioia has this to say about the beguiling harmonic structure of "autumn in new york"

... this piece, more than any of [Duke's] other popular efforts, seems to straddle the divide between conservatory ambitions and commercial considerations, especially in its unusual harmonic movement. When the song eventually resolves into F minor, you can look back and contemplate the intricacy and misdirection of a structure that never states that chord at any point in its first 24 bars. The melody, with its alternation of downward-stepping and upward-sweeping phrases, perfectly matches the emotional arc of the words.

TG recommends a bud powell performance with charlie mingus and art taylor, live at birdland '53, which i'm having trouble tracking down.

he definitely recorded it that same year with art taylor and george duvivier on bass. that was released as part of "the amazing bud powell, vol. 2" on blue note. his "april in paris" features max roach and curly russell on bass, and was recorded for norman granz on mercury a few years earlier, either 1950 or 1951

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Don’t get meI can’t get started.

i have a feeling this is going to be very close

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.