"Poinciana" (The song of the tree) actually dates back to 1936; written by Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier. The song has been identified as a development of a Cuban folk song entitled "La Canción del Árbol" whose title translates as "the song of the tree", the royal poinciana being a favorite Caribbean flowering plant. However composer Nat Simon would claim the song's tune came to him while he was dining at Manhattan Theater District restaurant Leone's, and that he jotted down a rough draft of the melody on his table's cloth which - with Leone's permission - he took home to work out the completed melody at his piano. Lyrics for the song were completed in about thirty minutes by Buddy Bernier, who cited as his inspiration a postcard of a royal poinciana tree he'd recently received from Florida. It was made famous by Ahmad Jamal in 1963, when he recorded a great live version that he arranged. My arrangement is my own, with a little help from Dave Sanborn's 2005 album, "Closer." website www.stevethunter.com