Perdido is a 1941 song composed by Juan Tizol. Juan was a Puerto Rican valve trombone player who is best known for his long tenure in the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his composition of the popular tune Caravan. The meaning of the Spanish and Portuguese word Perdido is “lost”. Perdido is listed as the 58th all time jazz standard on JazzStandards.com. The song has a wonderful ‘shout chorus’ that is a counter melody that sometimes gets played during performance either before trading 4s with a drummer or at the end of the tune.
 
Perdido’s chord changes offer a great way to develop mastery of the iim7 V7 IMaj chord pattern and the Dominant Cycle as the tune’s harmony can be simplified to these two chord progressions. The song has an AABA form and is most often played in Bb.
Here are some simplifications of its harmony:

Famous recordings of Perdido include versions by:
Dave Brubeck – Dave Brubeck Newport (1958)
Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown (1942 & 1953)
Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson - J.A.T.P. In Tokyo - Live at the Nichigeki Theatre (1953)
Illinois Jacquet – Live at Carnegie Hall (1947)
Charlie Parker - Jazz at Massey Hall (1953)
Stuff Smith – Live at Tom Hall (1945)
Sonny Stitt – Salt & Pepper (1963)
Art Tatum - The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 3 (1955)
Sarah Vaughan – The Roulette Years (1990)
Ben Webster – Live at Newport (1964)