Luiz Bonfá, music · Antônio Maria, Portuguese lyrics · From the 1959 film Orfeu Negro
Black Orpheus
Manhã de Carnaval, often called Black Orpheus, is the main theme of the 1959 film Orfeu Negro. Players like its A minor changes, where half-diminished and dominant chords keep leading back to Am. Getz, Dexter Gordon and Wayne Shorter all recorded it in the 1960s.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Luiz Bonfá✓
- 2 Hear the changes plainly Vince Guaraldi Trio✓
- 3 Hear it with an orchestra Stan Getz with the Gary McFarland Orchestra✓
- 4 Hear it without a piano Paul Desmond✓
- 5 Hear it as hard bop Wayne Shorter✓
- 6 Hear a long solo version Dexter Gordon✓
- 7 Hear a horn-section arrangement Stanley Turrentine✓
- 8 Hear a live quartet Stan Getz Quartet✓
How the tune works
The chorus runs 32 bars in two halves of 16, and both halves open the same way: Am, then Bm7♭5 and E7♭9 back to Am, twice. The first half then moves to Dm7 and G7 into Cmaj7, adds a C♯m7♭5 and A7♭9 pair, and runs Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 before Bm7♭5, E7♭9 and Am bring it home. The second half repeats those opening four bars, then turns to Em7♭5 and A7♭9 for a long stretch of Dm7. A descending line of Dm7, Dm7/C, Bm7♭5, E7♭9, Am, Am7/G and Fmaj7 follows, and the last four bars return to Am through Bm7♭5 and E7♭9. On the last time the final bar is Am, followed by a short tag of Dm7 and Am7 twice, then Dm7 and Em7, and a closing Am.
One published lead sheet, in A minor with no key signature, set out four bars to a line. The chorus is 32 bars in two halves of 16: A (bars 1–16) and B (bars 17–32). The standardrepertoire.com listing agrees on 32 bars, form AB and A minor as the common key.
Taken from the lead sheet pages that Paul Vachon compiled for Ted Greene's comping study, which print the melody, standard changes and lyrics under Greene's chord diagrams. This chart uses only the standard changes, not Greene's richer voicings. The first-ending bar 32 is Bm7♭5 and E7♭9. On the last time bar 32 is Am, followed by a tag of Dm7 Am7, Dm7 Am7, Dm7 Em7 and a closing Am, which this chart leaves out. Bar 8 reads C♯m7♭5 to A7♭9 here; Ted Greene's handwritten 1973 lead sheet writes Em7♭5 to A7 in that bar, and both lead to the Dm7 in bar 9. Bar 16 uses a plain E7 where other bars use E7♭9. Published charts differ in details like these, so compare with the one you play from and with the recording.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗Eight versions in teaching order: the composer's own recording, a piano trio, Stan Getz with an orchestra, Paul Desmond's quartet without piano, then Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Turrentine and a live Getz quartet. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Luiz Bonfá 1962
“Manhã de Carnaval (Morning of the Carnival)”, Luiz Bonfá Composer of Black Orpheus Plays and Sings Bossa Nova
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- Listen for
- This is Luiz Bonfá's own recording of his tune, on an album arranged by Lalo Schifrin. Hum the melody along with it until you can sing it without the recording.
- Try this
- Play the first four bars of the chart: Am for a bar, Bm7♭5 and E7♭9 in the second bar, Am again, then Bm7♭5 and E7♭9. Add the melody on top if you know it.
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Step 2 · Hear the changes plainly Now playing
Vince Guaraldi Trio 1962
“Manhã de Carnaval”, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
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- Listen for
- Only piano, bass and drums play. Follow the piano melody and listen to how lightly Monty Budwig's bass and Colin Bailey's drums sit underneath.
- Try this
- Play bars 5 to 8 of the chart slowly: Am for a bar, Dm7 and G7 in the next, Cmaj7 for a bar, then C♯m7♭5 and A7♭9.
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Step 3 · Hear it with an orchestra Now playing
Stan Getz with the Gary McFarland Orchestra 1962
“Manha de Carnaval (Morning of the Carnival)”, Big Band Bossa Nova
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- Listen for
- Getz plays tenor saxophone with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Gary McFarland. Notice how the band backs him compared with the small groups on the other steps.
- Try this
- Play bars 9 to 12 of the chart, one chord to a bar: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, Fmaj7. Then add the melody over them.
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Step 4 · Hear it without a piano Now playing
Paul Desmond (Paul Desmond–Jim Hall Quartet) 1963
“Theme from Black Orpheus”, Take Ten
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- Listen for
- The group is alto saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. Listen for which of the two front instruments, saxophone or guitar, carries the line at each point.
- Try this
- Play bars 13 to 16 of the chart: Bm7♭5, E7♭9, Am, then Bm7♭5 and E7 leading back to the top.
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Step 5 · Hear it as hard bop Now playing
Wayne Shorter 1961
Wayning Moments
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- Listen for
- A trumpet and tenor saxophone front line over piano, bass and drums. Listen for where Shorter and Hubbard each take over the lead.
- Try this
- Play bars 21 to 24 of the chart: Em7♭5, A7♭9, then Dm7 for two bars. Then listen for that move in the solos.
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Step 6 · Hear a long solo version Now playing
Dexter Gordon 1965
“Manha de Carnaval”, Gettin' Around
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- Listen for
- Listen to the melody first, then to how long the tenor saxophone keeps going. Vibraphone, piano, bass and drums are in the group, so listen for who plays when.
- Try this
- Play the whole 32-bar chart once through at a slow tempo with a metronome. For a bigger step, try improvising over the first four bars; that needs soloing over changes, so the smaller version is to play only the root of each chord.
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Step 7 · Hear a horn-section arrangement Now playing
Stanley Turrentine 1967
“Manha Da Carnaval”, New Time Shuffle
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- Listen for
- Turrentine plays tenor saxophone with horns arranged by Duke Pearson. Listen for where the horns play behind him and where they step back.
- Try this
- Play bars 25 to 28 of the chart: Dm7 and Dm7/C, Bm7♭5 and E7♭9, Am and Am7/G, then Fmaj7. The bass notes walk down from D to F.
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Step 8 · Hear a live quartet Now playing
Stan Getz Quartet 1966
“Manha de Carnaval (Live at Salle Pleyel, Paris, France, 1966)”, The Stan Getz Quartet in Paris
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- Listen for
- A live take by a quartet of tenor saxophone, vibraphone, bass and drums, much shorter than his 1962 orchestra version.
- Try this
- Sing the melody along with the recording, then play the 32-bar chart with only the root of each chord, one note per beat.
More great versions
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Agostinho dos Santos (from the film Orfeu Negro) 1959
“Manha de Carnaval (Thème-Orfeu-Scène du lever du soleil)”, Orfeu Negro
The film's soundtrack voice: Agostinho dos Santos dubbed the songs sung by Orfeu in the 1959 film Orfeu Negro.
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Gerry Mulligan Sextet 1963
“Morning of the Carnival (from "Black Orpheus")”, Night Lights
A sextet track from Gerry Mulligan's 1963 album Night Lights, recorded in New York in September and October 1963.
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Charlie Byrd 1966
“Manha de Carnaval (Theme from "Black Orpheus")”, Byrdland
Charlie Byrd, the guitarist who made Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, plays this on his 1966 album Byrdland.
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Frank Sinatra 1969
“A Day in the Life of a Fool”, My Way
Frank Sinatra sings Carl Sigman's English lyrics, under the title A Day in the Life of a Fool, on his 1969 album My Way.
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Leny Andrade featuring Fred Hersch 1993
“Manha Da Carnaval”, Maiden Voyage
A reading by the Brazilian singer Leny Andrade with pianist Fred Hersch, on the Chesky album Maiden Voyage released in 1994.
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Eliane Elias 1993
“Black Orpheus (Manhã de Carnaval)”, Paulistana
A 1993 version by the Brazilian jazz pianist Eliane Elias, from her Blue Note album Paulistana, which she produced.
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Paco de Lucía, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin 1996
“Manhã de Carnaval”, The Guitar Trio
Three guitarists, Paco de Lucía, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin, play the tune on their 1996 album The Guitar Trio.