10069 – Double Latin

A Day in the Life of a Fool/Peanut Vendor

Luiz Bonfa and Carl Sigman/ Don Azpiazu

Arranged by Roger Harvey for trombone solo and 9 brass

Difficulty: Hard (trb) / Medium (others)

Price: £25

Programme notes:

“A Day in the Life of a Fool" is based on the music of  Manha de Carnaval  from the 1959 Brazilian-French film Black Orpheus. The words were added later for commercial recording reasons. It has been recorded by many artists including Frank Sinatra, Astrud Gilberto, Jack Jones and Nana Mouskouri.

"The Peanut Vendor" (El Manisero) was a huge hit in Havana before Don Azpiazu brought the song to the United States, where it would be the first Latin number to top the charts. The song is a rumba, and with its release, inspired a Latin dance craze in urban America. The song was the No1 most popular song of 1931.

This version for trombone solo, strings the two tunes together and was made for the arranger to play with the brass band of the Birmingham School of Music. It was subsequently re-scored for tentet for a student recital at the Trinity College of Music.

Performance notes:

Whenever the solo trombone is playing be careful to play within a dynamic that allows the voice to be heard without undue effort, especially in The Peanut Vendor, where enthusiasm may turn to over-exuberance. Choose the opening tempo carefully so that after the transition the new tempo is not found to be too quick for comfort. In the tutti passages of the Peanut Vendor the dynamic can be stringer but be sure to drop back when necessary. Do not allow the constantly repeated riff to become either too heavy or too loud; control it.

The soloist may vary the 'improvised' passages at will and even the main melody of the Peanut Vendor can be played with some rubato; don't lose touch with the accompaniment.