La Curandera Negrita

La Curandera Negrita is basically a minor blues chart. Though this piece is written in 6/8, it is perhaps more accurately felt in a lilting triplet divided 4/4—with the dotted quarter receiving the pulse of a quarter note. Embrace the “clustery” sound of some of the voicings, and rehearse them slowly so your ears grow accustomed to the “rubs” sounding natural. The bass line changes its underlying pulse more frequently than in an ordinary Latin setting. This chart is longer than most high school-level material. Great interpretive latitude is encouraged so that each performance can sound different. First trumpet: C (2 ledger lines above staff).