Nat Simon, music · Buddy Bernier, lyrics · Written 1936, a hit for Benny Carter and Bing Crosby in 1944
Poinciana
Poinciana is a 1936 song by Nat Simon, with English words by Buddy Bernier. Ahmad Jamal made it his theme song, and its steady Latin beat spread to many bands. Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett are among the many who recorded it.
Listen in this order
Ahmad Jamal's 1958 trio record sets the groove, then Booker Ervin, Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins carry it through the 1960s and 1970s. Tony Williams, Gary Burton, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett close the path with versions from the 1990s.
“Poinciana (Live at The Pershing, Chicago, 1958)”, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me
Recorded live on January 16, 1958 at the Pershing Lounge in Chicago, with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums. It came out on Argo LP 628, Jamal's first album recorded live. According to JazzFuel, Fournier's drum pattern became known as the Poinciana beat.
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Listen for
Listen to the drums: one pattern repeats from start to finish, and the piano answers with short repeated lines over it. The track runs 8:09.
Try it on your instrument
Play the slowly: , D6, , Am/D, , , D6, D6. Keep the pulse even. Smaller version: play only D6 and Am/D, two bars each.
Booker Ervin's quartet recorded this on January 6, 1961 at Nola Penthouse Sound Studios in New York. Nat Hentoff supervised the session for Candid, and the track is on the album That's It!
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Listen for
A tenor saxophone carries the tune, with piano, bass and drums behind it, and the track runs 8:00.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the : , Gm7, , Amaj7, two bars each. Smaller version: play only the roots, G and A.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded this at a jazz festival in Puebla and Mexico City on May 12, 13 and 14, 1967, with guitarist Chamin Correa and percussionist Salvador Agueros added. It came out on Columbia's Bravo! Brubeck!
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Listen for
An alto saxophone leads over piano, guitar, bass and drums, with bongo and conga added. The track runs 6:43.
Try it on your instrument
Play the intro vamp: for six bars, then for two, with a steady rhythm in the left hand. Smaller version: hold A7sus for four bars, then D6.
Sonny Rollins' quintet recorded this in New York on July 27, 1972, with George Cables, Bob Cranshaw and David Lee. It opens Sonny Rollins' Next Album on Milestone.
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Listen for
Rollins plays saxophone through nearly ten minutes (9:59), with piano, bass and drums keeping the pulse underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole slowly, , D6, , Am/D, , , D6, D6, then repeat it. Smaller version: play only the first four bars and repeat them.
“Poinciana (Song of the Tree)”, The Story of Neptune
Drummer Tony Williams led this quintet at The Power Station in New York, in sessions from November 29 to December 1, 1991. The track appeared on The Story of Neptune, issued by Blue Note in 1992.
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Listen for
A trumpet and a saxophone share the over piano, bass and drums, and the track runs 10:10.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , two per : , , Gm7, . Smaller version: play only Gm7 and Amaj7.
Gary Burton and Friends recorded this in New York on October 5 and 6, 1996, with Fred Hersch, John Scofield, John Patitucci and Peter Erskine. It came out on Concord Jazz's Departure in 1997.
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Listen for
Vibes and guitar share the lead, with piano, bass and drums around them. The track runs 8:25.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last four of the final , , , , , and loop them. Smaller version: play only D6 and A7sus.
McCoy Tyner recorded this at Avatar Studios in New York on July 29 and 30, 1998, with a band of horns and Latin percussion. It came out on Telarc in 1999.
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Listen for
Piano, horns, flute and a row of percussion players share the track. The track runs 6:55.
Try it on your instrument
Play the intro vamp: for six , then for two, with a steady pulse. Smaller version: hold A7sus for four bars, then D6.
Nat Simon writes the music and Buddy Bernier the English words in 1936. According to Wikipedia, the tune grew from a Cuban folk song, La Canción del Árbol.
1940s
Benny Carter's orchestra records it for Capitol in 1943, and Bing Crosby records it that October. Wikipedia credits Jerry Wald's 1943 shows at the Hotel New Yorker with raising its profile.
1950s
Steve Lawrence's first disc, made in 1952, takes it into the pop top 25. In 1958 Ahmad Jamal's trio records it live in Chicago, and drummer Vernel Fournier's steady pattern becomes known as the Poinciana beat.
1960s
Booker Ervin's quartet records it in 1961, and Dave Brubeck's quartet plays it at a jazz festival in Mexico in 1967 with a guitarist and a percussionist added. Ahmad Jamal revisits it live in 1968.
1970s
Sonny Rollins records it in New York in July 1972 with a quintet, and it opens his album Next Album on Milestone.
1990s
Tony Williams's quintet records it in 1991, McCoy Tyner records it in 1998 with horns and Latin percussion, and Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live in Paris in 1999.
More great versions
4 more, from 1943 to 1968. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sBenny Carter1943
1950sSteve Lawrence1952
1960sCal Tjader1963 · Soul jazz
Ahmad Jamal1968
Benny Carter and His Orchestra
1943
Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions
Benny Carter's orchestra recorded this for Capitol in 1943, where it was the flip side of Hurry, Hurry. According to Wikipedia, it was one of three hit versions in 1944.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
D majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
D majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
D
The tune stays near . The iReal Pro chart opens with an intro: for six bars, then for two. The , bars 1 to 8, is D6, D6, , Am/D, , , D6, D6, and it repeats in bars 9 to 16. The , bars 17 to 24, is Gm7, Gm7, , Amaj7, Gm7, Gm7, A7sus, A7sus. The last A section, bars 25 to 32, matches the first except for its final bar, which is A7sus, the same as the intro vamp. Other lead sheets may spell some chords differently.