Alberto Domínguez, music and Spanish lyrics · Milton Leeds, English lyrics · Mexican bolero, 1939
Perfidia
Perfidia is a Mexican bolero, a romantic Latin song style, written by Alberto Domínguez in 1939. A man sings it after his lover has left him, and the Spanish title means betrayal. Milton Leeds wrote the English words, and dance bands, jazz groups and a rock band have all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with two dance-band records from early 1941, both with a singer in front. It then follows the tune through 1950s jazz, from a piano trio and a saxophone quartet to a Latin percussion band, and ends with two vocal records from 1959, one sung in Spanish.
1940sBenny Goodman and His Orchestra, vocal Helen Forrest1941
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, vocal Dorothy Claire and the Modernaires1941
1950sDave Brubeck Trio1950 · Cool jazz
Ronnie Scott Quartet1954 · Bebop
Ahmad Jamal Trio1955 · Post-bop
Cal Tjader1957 · Latin jazz
Mel Tormé with Billy May1959
Nat King Cole with Dave Cavanaugh's Orchestra1959 · Easy listening
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Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, vocal Helen Forrest · 1941
Perfidia
Benny Goodman's orchestra recorded it on January 28, 1941, with Helen Forrest singing. Columbia issued it as number 35962, and the credits name Milton Leeds for the English words.
Dance band with a singer
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Helen Forrest sings, with the Goodman orchestra behind her. The record runs just over three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first : C | three times, then | Dm7 G7, with two in each . A smaller version is the first two bars on repeat, C Am7 then Dm7 G7.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, vocal Dorothy Claire and the Modernaires · 1941
Perfidia
Glenn Miller's orchestra recorded it on February 19, 1941, at an RCA Bluebird session. According to Dennis Spragg's study of Miller's 1941, it was the first record for singer Dorothy Claire, who sang it with the Modernaires.
Dance band with a singer
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Dorothy Claire sings with the Modernaires, a vocal group. The record runs a little over three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the from one published chart: | Dm6 | | E7 | Dm Dm6 | | E7 | Dm7 G7. A smaller version is the last four bars only: Dm Dm6 | G7 | E7 | Dm7 G7. Another chart writes this bridge as F, E7, Dm, F E7, so check it against your own.
Dave Brubeck's trio recorded it in San Francisco in November 1950, with Ron Crotty on bass and Cal Tjader on drums. Fantasy issued it on a 78 rpm single, number 513, and on the 10-inch LP Distinctive Rhythm Instrumentals.
Piano-led trio
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Brubeck plays piano with bass and drums behind him. The whole track lasts about two and a quarter minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play all 32 once through in : A, A, B, A, with two in each bar of the . A smaller version is the A section twice, ending on C.
Ronnie Scott's quartet recorded it in London on April 28, 1954, with Victor Feldman on piano. Esquire issued it on a 78 rpm single, number 10-395, with Fools Rush In on the other side.
Saxophone in the lead
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Ronnie Scott plays the tune on tenor saxophone, with Victor Feldman on piano. The track runs a little over three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody over the of the first , then play it again with the rhythm changed a little. A smaller version is the first four only: C | | C Am7 | Dm7 G7.
Ahmad Jamal recorded it in October 1955 with Ray Crawford on guitar and Israel Crosby on bass. It opens his album The Ahmad Jamal Trio, which Epic released in 1956.
Piano-led trio
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Ahmad Jamal plays piano with a guitar and a bass behind him. The track runs nearly four minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Loop the first two , C | , four times, slowly and evenly. Then play the whole , finishing with | Dm7 G7.
Cal Tjader's orchestra recorded Perfidia Cha Cha in New York on November 20, 1957, with Vince Guaraldi on piano and Mongo Santamaría on conga. Fantasy issued it on the album Mas Ritmo Caliente in 1958.
latin · Latin percussion
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Cal Tjader leads on vibraphone, with flute, tenor saxophone and piano, and four players on conga and other percussion. At over eight minutes it is the longest track on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the in steady eighth notes, two chords per , and keep the beat even through the bar. A smaller version is to count four beats per bar while you tap along with the track.
¡Olé Tormé! Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May
Mel Tormé recorded it in Los Angeles on April 2, 1959, with Billy May arranging and conducting the orchestra. Verve issued it on the album ¡Olé Tormé! that year.
Jazz singer with an orchestra
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Mel Tormé sings with an orchestra led by Billy May. The track is just over two minutes, the shortest on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody and the at two speeds, one slow and one quick, and decide which suits the tune better. A smaller version is the first four at both speeds.
Nat King Cole with Dave Cavanaugh's Orchestra · 1959 · Easy listening
A Mis Amigos
Nat King Cole recorded it in Spanish in Rio de Janeiro in April 1959, with Dave Cavanaugh arranging and conducting. Capitol issued it on the album A Mis Amigos.
Sung in Spanish
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Nat King Cole sings in Spanish with a guitar, a bass, drums and an orchestra led by Dave Cavanaugh. The track runs just over two minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the from a Spanish-language chart in order: F, , , then F E7, giving each about two . Return to C for the last A. A smaller version is to play F then E7 and stop.
Alberto Domínguez, a Mexican composer, writes the song in 1939 as a Spanish-language bolero. Xavier Cugat's Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra records it for Victor that year, and Wikipedia says it became a hit for Cugat in 1940.
1940s
In 1941 two dance bands record it with Milton Leeds's English words: Benny Goodman's orchestra in January, with singer Helen Forrest, and Glenn Miller's in February, with Dorothy Claire and the Modernaires.
1950s
Dave Brubeck's trio records it in San Francisco in 1950 and Ronnie Scott's quartet in London in 1954. Ahmad Jamal's trio follows in 1955, Cal Tjader's orchestra plays a cha-cha in 1957, and Mel Tormé and Nat King Cole both sing it in 1959.
1960s
The Ventures, a rock instrumental band, release their version in late 1960. According to Wikipedia, it rose to number 15 on the Billboard chart.
1990s
Linda Ronstadt sings it on her mambo and bolero album Frenesí, released in August 1992 with arrangements by Ray Santos. Gonzalo Rubalcaba's quartet, with a trumpet, records it at UCLA in 1994.
More great versions
2 more, from 1960 to 1992. Tap a cover to play it here.
1960sThe Ventures1960
1970s
1980s
1990sLinda Ronstadt1992
The Ventures
1960
The Ventures
The Ventures released their rock instrumental version in late 1960. According to Wikipedia, it rose to number 15 on the Billboard chart.
Linda Ronstadt first recorded it for the film The Mambo Kings and then again for her 1992 album Frenesí, with arrangements by Ray Santos. Elektra released the album on August 25, 1992.
The tune's layout, its keys, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
C majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
C major → D minor → C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
C
D m
C
The tune is 32 in : A, A, B, A. Two published charts agree on the . Each is eight bars with two in a bar: C | comes round three times, then | Dm7 G7 closes the section. The second A ends Dm7 E7, which leads into the . One chart opens the bridge on and , goes through E7 and , and closes with G7, E7 and Dm7 G7. A Spanish-language chart gives it as F, E7, Dm, F E7, so the bridge is the part to check against your own chart. The last A ends on C. Printed copies also start with a short in before the 32-bar .