Juan Tizol, music · Ervin Drake and Hans Lengsfelder, lyrics · First recorded by Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1941
Perdido is a 1941 tune by Ellington trombonist Juan Tizol, with later lyrics by Ervin Drake and Hans Lengsfelder. Its short phrases and steady swing have made it a favorite at jam sessions. Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Parker and Red Garland all recorded it.
The path starts with the 1942 Ellington record and Ella Fitzgerald's 1957 vocal, then moves through a cool quartet, a quintet, a piano trio, two guitars, two tenor saxophones and a 1949 jam-session vocal. Each step plays the same changes in a new setting.
8 recordings, 1942 to 1973 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗
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Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra · 1942 · Big band
Perdido
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Play the first four of the slowly, one per bar: , , , then and together in the fourth bar. Repeat that phrase to fill the eight bars.
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Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra · 1957 · Big band, Swing
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
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Play the eight of the , one per bar: , D7, , G7, , C7, , F7. Then play the last , which ends on and G7.
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The Dave Brubeck Quartet · 1953 · Bebop, Cool jazz
Jazz at Oberlin
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Play the full slowly, four beats a bar: , , , , Cm7, F7, B♭6, Dm7 G7. Count the sections as you listen to the track.
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Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach (The Quintet) · 1953
Jazz at Massey Hall
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Play the as one per : , D7, , G7, , C7, , F7. Then play two bars of each chord with just the root and the third.
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The Red Garland Trio · 1959 · Bebop, Swing
Perdido / Just Squeeze Me
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Play the with a in your right hand and the root in your left: , , , then and in the fourth . Keep the left hand on one note per chord.
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Herb Ellis and Joe Pass · 1973 · Post-bop, Swing
Seven, Come Eleven
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On guitar or piano, play only the root of each in the : C, F, B♭, then D and G in the fourth . Then add the third and seventh to each root.
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Ben Webster - Dexter Gordon Quintet · 1972
Baden 1972: Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series Volume 10
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Play the whole form once as one per , , using , , , for each A and , G7, , F7 (two bars each) for the B. A smaller version is to play only the .
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Ella Fitzgerald at JATP · 1949
Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Ella Fitzgerald Set
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Play the whole form as a loop of , eight each, one per bar except the fourth bar of each A, which has and . The uses , D7, G7, G7, , C7, , F7.
1 more, from 1962 to 1962. Tap a cover to play it here.
1962 · Swing
Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate
Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Johnny Hodges are credited on this live Village Gate recording of Perdido, released in 1962.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Each runs , , , then and in the fourth , and repeats that four-bar phrase. The is a , two bars each: , G7, and F7, with each leading to the next and F7 leading back to B♭ for the last A. The whole tune stays in , and the in the A sections and the dominant chain in the B section do not leave it. These chords follow the iReal Pro chart.
Chart from iReal Pro's Jazz 1460 playlist, contributed by its users.