“Perdido” was composed by Juan Tizol, the valve trombonist in Duke Ellington’s orchestra, and recorded by Ellington in 1942. It became a popular jam-session tune, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and many swing and bebop musicians.
The form is a 32-bar AABA, usually in Bb. The A sections move through a repeated ii-V (Cm7 to F7) with a riff-based melody, and the bridge uses dominant chords that move around the circle of fifths, similar to rhythm changes.
Section by section: in the A sections, practice ii-V licks over Cm7 to F7 and resolve to Bb. The riff melody suggests repeating short ideas, so try building your solo from riffs. On the bridge, use the guide-tone line of the dominant chords’ thirds. In the final A, return to riffs to bring the energy home.
Practice at medium swing. Learn the melody by ear from Ellington’s or Ella’s version.
Transposing tip: Bb instruments read it in C, Eb instruments in G.
Arrangement idea: have the horns trade the riff melody back and forth like a call-and-response, then trade fours with the drummer after the solos.
Getting the most from the Perdido Lead Sheet PDF: start by reading the chord symbols without your instrument and humming the roots. Then circle any chord you can’t yet voice or arpeggiate, and make those your warm-up for the week before you play the whole form.
Using the Perdido Lead Sheet PDF on gigs: keep a concert-pitch copy and a copy in your instrument’s key, label the intro and ending on the page, and note the tempo and feel the band usually plays. Small notes like these keep you calm when a tune gets called on the spot.
Is it hard to play? It’s beginner to intermediate. Recordings to study: Ellington’s 1942 recording and Ella Fitzgerald’s scat versions. Learn more about the composer on Juan Tizol’s Wikipedia page, and find more swing lead sheets on Minedit.