Bright Samba – Michael Cochrane

Though not the brightest in terms of tempo, this medium-up samba certainly sets a bright mood. The melody has a hard-bop, "sweet blues" sound, switching between G major and minor tonalities. The form is 48 measures long: two eight-measure A sections, a 16-measure bridge, and C similar to the two A sections but ending differently. Our lead sheets show the full 16-measure C section written out without a repeat, as this way it's easier to indicate where to go to the coda (four measures before the end).

The A section changes are generally descending, resolving to F and Eb key centers before returning to G. On the first half of the bridge the bass plays an F pedal point; the second half repeats the same material a whole step down on E♭.

There is an intro, which begins with eight measures of solo piano whole-note chords descending in minor thirds; the bass and drums then come in for an eight-measure vamp setting up the head. The coda takes the third to last measure of the melody and repeats it five times, rising and falling in half steps to a final chord.

A Condensed Score is available for the recorded quintet arrangement; this is also the rhythm section part and includes the piano intro. The horns play harmony on the bridge, mostly in fifths. We also have a tenor sax 2nd part as recorded.