April, one more time

"Oh, to be in England, now that April's there"

Robert Browning was in Florence, where he lived from 1846 to 1861, when he wrote that.

April has stirred the spirits of many songwriters; thus we have "Lost April," "April Showers," "I Remember April," "April Love," and--perhaps best known of all, thanks to Thad Jones's great arrangement for the Count Basie orchestra--Vernon Duke's "April in Paris."

Who can forget seeing the Basie band in Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles" playing "April in Paris" in the middle of a desert?

As the Count liked to say, "one more once."

Browning would agree.