Sunday Samba

The composer writes…

“With the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil dominating the airwaves during this summer, the infectious musical grooves of the samba and bossa nova kept coming to mind.

One Sunday this simple samba tune wouldn’t leave me alone, so I wrote out a lead-sheet and then realized a brass quintet would be an ideal instrumental vehicle for it, especially if a percussionist would like to join in. Thus, “Sunday Samba”, somewhat in honor of the Summer Olympics.

There is plenty of opportunity for some latin-jazz improvisation for trumpet, trombone and bass trombone/tuba, especially if optional repeated sections are extended.

This brass quintet composition works especially well configured with two trumpets, two trombones and bass trombone (plus optional percussion), and it also works just fine with horn and tuba replacing parts three and five, respectively, and without the percussion.

A note about the percussion “part”: It is simply an indication of the basic hit-points, the necessary syncopations and silent beats and bars, and suggestions of groove styles; it is not an actual drum part. It could be helpful for a single conga drummer or any “latinesque” perc. works up to a full trap-set player, or even a percussion section.

That said, “Sunday Samba” works just fine for brass only.