Blackberry Winter is a jazz song composed by Alec Wilder with lyrics by Loonis McGlohon in 1976. Wilder, known for his quirky, boundary-pushing style, wrote the melody while improvising at the piano during a visit with McGlohon, who then crafted the words to fit his rhythmic ideas. The title refers to a brief late-spring cold snap that can hit after blackberry vines bloom, and the lyrics touch on memory, love lost, and the ache of moving on. The first recording and release were by Teddi King in March 1976. The tune has since become a jazz standard, appearing in Marlene VerPlanck’s 1986 album Marlene VerPlanck Sings Alec Wilder, and it has inspired instrumental explorations such as Keith Jarrett’s 1977 improvisation on the theme.
