Poinciana is a 1936 song composed by Nat Simon with English lyrics by Buddy Bernier and Spanish lyrics by Manuel Lliso, based on the Cuban folk tune La Canción del Árbol about the royal poinciana tree. Simon reportedly sketched the melody at Mamma Leone’s in Manhattan, and Bernier finished the lyrics in about thirty minutes inspired by a Florida postcard. The tune took a few years to catch on, but early 1940s recordings—including Glenn Miller with the Army Air Forces Band in 1943 and 1944 hits by Benny Carter, Bing Crosby, and David Rose— helped it rise. It later became a Latin jazz standard, reinforced by Ahmad Jamal’s 1958 album At the Pershing: But Not for Me, whose on‑the‑beat piano and Vernel Fournier’s New Orleans drum groove helped define the feel. Since then it has been recorded by dozens of artists—from Frank Sinatra and George Shearing to Johnny Mathis, Vulfpeck, Paquito D’Rivera and Chano Domínguez—and even appeared in the 1952 film Dreamboat. A disco version by Paradise Express also charted in 1978.
