Melanie Mitrano
Cafajeste
Year: 2015
Duration (in minutes): 4:30
Difficulty: Medium (college/community)
Category: mixed instrument trio
Publisher: Ivy Cottage Press
Score PDF: cafajeste_full_score_and_parts-5.pdf
Description: This piece is a samba that is meant to emulate a Brazilian jazz trio, with the cello and bass functioning as the rhythm section. The cello essentially replicates a comping piano or guitar, while the bass underpins the harmonies and keeps the groove locked in. The piece should be counted off like a jazz tune; the tempo is set from the beginning and does not waver throughout.
The flute has long been an integral and essential instrument in the samba tradition. In fact, the first Brazilian instruments were flutes, and their role cannot be overstated. Here, the flute maintains its melodic and improvisatory function, serving as the primary soloist of the piece.
Cafajeste means "womanizer" or "scoundrel" in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil. The piece has a rather seductive, fun and clever quality, typical of this type of man, but also of the type of woman who can spot him a mile away and match his charms equally.
Cafajeste is pronounced as follows: kah-fah-ZHEH-shchee