the father of
Salvador Carnaval's Samba-Reggae Rhythms
Neguinho de Samba which means Little Black
Samba Master is how Neguinho was known by all of Salvador.
His dream was to live the music and he succeeded
for himself, as well as his generation, his city and and so many
generations present and future. Finding beauty and truth
in identifying
as an African in prideful resistance his Afro blocos conquered
the Carnival of Salvador, and the force of his new percussive
combinations are sounds that still echo around the world and
particularly in Salvador's Pelourinho historic district.
Born in 1954 in the region of the Dique do Tororo,
Neguinho Samba is the 3rd of 14 siblings.The
son of a drummer and a washerwoman, he learned to play
percussion on the aluminum washbasins used by his mother, and
began his musical career playing in samba schools in the city of
Salvador.
He
assembled his first percussion group with boys with fellow 11
and 12 year olds in, the neighborhood where he lived, playing
drums made from milk cans and grocery bags. At
age 13, he began playing in blocos of carnival, with
Coruja, Filhos da Liberdade, and Ritmistas do
Samba
As a young adult Neguinho variously found work
as an electrician, iron worker and street peddler, all the while
tapping rhythms.
Neguinho realized that drums could be
fashioned for favela children from scrap metal. Iron
construction rods could be formed into exoskeleton drum struts.
Other pieces of scrap metal could be used to form 13 inch rings
to secure the struts at the top and bottom of each drum.
Neguinho found that a drum with five struts
was good for samba but one with eight was best for
the timbau, a
drum which came to be associated with Timbalada. Neguinho
organized a group that developed a process for building drums in
his father's workshop. The availability of affordable drums
contributed to the revival of Salvador's most historic district,
Pelourinho, where the Portuguese had auctioned slaves.
The First Bloco Afro: Ilê Aiyê
Salvador Carnaval in the mid-20th
century had many samba schools and still more informal blocos yet they mainly performed Rio-style samba and
black Brazilian participation was minimal.
In 1974, Neguinho helped found the
Ile Aye, where he began making instruments for the bloco
with the help of his father, the blacksmith Jacinto
Souza, and stayed there for eight years.
His
artistic career has emphasized the
importance of the bloco to affirm its black identity. He
said the idea of creating the Ilê came after two women,
and Neusa Marinalva were blocked at a dance carnival of
Bahia Athletic Association because they were black.
The first "bloco afro," was Ilê Aiyê,
which was founded in 1974 and paraded in the 1975
Carnival, with a new music that consciously tried to be
blend of older samba and reggae rhythms. Ilê Aiyê's
founders revered the work of Bob Marley, and added
elements of reggae to the older, Bahian style of samba
called samba de roda which had later evolved into the
faster paced Rio-style samba. The tempo was slowed and
the cuica and pandeiro were eliminated as too
high-pitched percussion instruments associated with the
Rio Carnival.
"At that time he [Neguinho] concluded that
each bloco should have a distinctive rhythm, and he
devised the first rhythm uniquely identified with
Ilê. The rhythm of Ilê came to him as
he thought about the residents of Curuzu, where Ilê
was formed and which it represented, and the
"mother" of Ilê, the mother of the bloco's founder
who was and still is a leader of a famous
Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé 'terreiro' there. The Ilê rhythm reminded him of the
time of slavery and the backbreaking labor of slaves
to create "sisal" fibers. It also reminded him of
Candomblé, which emerged from behind the façade of
Catholicism and is not-infrequently co-opted by
white Catholics who identify with the
characteristics of a particular orixá (or saint). Neguinho saw from the dance
movements of the members of the Ilê bloco that they
"fit" with the rhythm he had created for them, so
that they could "find" their own identities, recover
something of their African heritage, in it. ---Phillip Wagner
[
more ]
Many other afro blocos were founded soon
afterwards, and all played the same rhythmic pattern which is
mainly credited to Ile Aye's musical director Neguinho do Samba.
At the time, it was known simply as "the music of the afro
blocos" or "the rhythm of Ile Aiye".
Musically, Ilê Aiyê's major
innovations to samba were the
addition of a new 4th surdo
playing rapid rolls with two mallets,
the addition of a reggae
backbeat played by the snare drums (caixas), and
the creation of
a new clave pattern that is a blend of samba-de-roda clave with
a reggae backbeat.
They retained many aspects of samba, such as
samba's 3 surdos, and a repinique pattern that was played with
hand and stick. Bloco Afros were also a growing cultural
statement, highlighting African heritage and black pride through
music, dance theater, and art.
1990
Following the
success of 1986's Graceland, on which he worked
principally with South African musicians, Simon
broadened his interests in diverse forms of
music from around the world. He turned to Latin
America for the musicians and rhythms which
characterize much of this album, partnering with
Afro-Brazilian superstars Grupo Cultural Olodum,
masters of the heavily percussive sub-style of
samba called Batuque or Batucada.
In 1990 Paul Simon arrived
in Bahia to shoot a video for a song from an
album of his, called “The Obvious Child.” This video was done in the
Pelourinho the historic old city of
Salvador. The following year Paul Simon invited
Olodum to play in New York’s
Central
Park. It
was the first of many international tours.how
The Obvious Child
by Paul Simon
percussion by Olodum
arranged by Neguinho de Samba
I'm accustomed to a
smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny the obvious child?
According to Neguinho; Paul Simon, when he heard
the sound of drums of the boys from Olodum, he said: "I
was with Bob Marley and told him that his music
was the music of the world.
Agora eu digo a você que a sua música é a do
mundo. Now I say to you that your music is in
the world.
Você poderia se juntar ao Bob Marley (à música)
e dizer que essa música é samba-reggae”.
Why deny the obvious
child?
And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said
These songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark
We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day
I've been waking up at sunrise
I've been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?
Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some rooms are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down from the shelf
And he idly thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair
Well I'm accustomed to a smoother ride
Maybe I'm a dog that's lost his bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie is just a lie
But I say the cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?
Stocks and Whipping post at Norton, Bridgnorth [
Shropshire Newspapers] In England, the practice
of whipping was considered a just and humane
punishment by the authorities until it was
finally discontinued in 1948.
Rhythm of the Saints
As an Album its stature
has stood the test of
time and continues to grow over two decades later
Rhythm of the Saints,is now being called by some, Paul Simon's best
ever.
The Obvious Child - The Olodum Single/Video remains its most distinguished
and recognized work
With Paul Simon, Olodum
recorded The Rhythm of the Saints album in 1990
and participated in the subsequent worldwide tour.
"But Simon deserves a bit
more credit than just being the voice in front of the
songs; he produced the album, putting it together in
more than one sense. More so than almost any other album
from 1990, the original CD issue of The Rhythm of the
Saints still sounds fantastic—dating from before the
loudness wars, with a luscious sense of space that
allows your ears to follow the multiple rhythms and
melodies weaving through every song. Simon's decision to
have the rhythms form the heart and soul of the music
and yet remain glowingly soft instead of hard-edged was
at first baffling but quickly becomes one of the
record's best features ---
Ian Mathers
"But great art is judged by time as much as anything
else, and I believe that this is a fascinating and
moving record, whose subtle and shifting rhythms,
melodies, harmonies, and chords represent perhaps the
best admixture of Brazilian, African, and American
sensibilities in the history of pop music" ---
Fred McGhee
"The Obvious Child", by Paul Simon, whose music video
featured Olodum, was the only single to receive
substantial radio play from the Rhythm of the Saints
album
“O Canto da Cidade”
/
The song of the city
“I am the color of this city
The song of this city is mine”
Neguinho do Samba is "the god of percussion in Brazil."
Surdos
derive from urban centers, and are traditionally made of
leftover industrial materials, like sheetmetal, bolts, and steel
rods. As the need arose, different sizes developed, each drum
with its own name and role in the bateria. From one basic design
came the repinique, repique de mão, and the surdo.
The name surdo has been
used as a general term for all drums of this type, but more
recently specifies the large, cylindrical bass drum in
Brazilian music. It literally means "deaf" of "deaf man" in
Brazilian Portuguese, because of huge sound wave it can produce
and propel down your ear canal.
Ile Aiye
sets out from its year round
headquarters, several miles out from downtown, very much as the
Afro-Brazilian bloco of a particular community. The
neighborhoods of Liberdade define their historical community in
the rituals of departure. In those songs, led by young musicians
trained in Ilê Aiyê?s neighborhood school, the community
celebrates a proud local history and tells itself and the city
that it is on the move for a brighter future for all
Afro-Brazilians.
Truth is the light
So you never give up the fight --- Bob Marley
"join in this year?s bloco songs that I have
to learn over the hours of the parade but that have clearly long
since been rehearsed by everyone else: songs of identity, of the
struggles and achievements of Afro Brazilians here in Salvador
and all Africans of the diaspora, songs of love and longing and
hope." ---Rowan Ireland [more]
Olodum
Olodum (pronounced oh-lo-doon) was founded as a Bloco
Afro in 1979 and by 1986 they had
established themselves as the premier performers of a
new genre of music.
Neguinho joined Olodum in 1982
where he remained for 16 years, encouraging cultural and
educational development of their students.
"In these blocos, I had the
opportunity to educate through music, boys who were
social vulnerable and play with various artists abroad.
he said to Andrew Holland shortly before he passed
away.
Mestre Neguinho do Samba, introduced a key
innovation: the old, samba-derived, style of playing the repinique, with hand and stick, was eliminated, and the
repiniques switched instead to playing rapid rolls with
two wood or plastic rods. This style of playing is
derived from candomble, an Afro-Brazilian religion. The
resulting rapid-fire clatter of the repiniques, along
with the distinctive driving roll of the 4th surdo,
gives samba-reggae an unmistakable sound.
During the carnival of 1986, this new style of music,
known as
samba-reggae, made its debut. Olodum had
combined the traditional samba with sounds from a number
of other Caribbean music genres, including: merengue,
salsa, and reggae. The toques, or "drumming patterns",
that categorized the samba-reggae beat was composed of
"a pattern in which the surdo bass drums divided
themselves into four or five interlocking parts. Against
this, the high-pitched repiques and caixes filled out
the pattern with fixed and repeated rhythms in a slow
tempo, imitating the shuffle feel of reggae."
In 1986,
the phrase "samba-reggae" was used for the first time to
describe the music of Olodum, and, by extension, of the
other afro blocos as well. Over time, most afro blocos
converted to Olodum's style of playing the repinique. In
the 1990s, Ilê Aiyê finally converted to the Olodum
two-rod style.
Michael Jackson - They Don't Care
About Us
(Olodum Version)
Neguinho Samba
appears in the video for Michael Jackson with a blue
shorts, a striped shirt and a yellow beret governing the
drummers as the king of pop sings in the foreground.
Spike Lee
Michael
Jackson
Neguinho de
Samba
Director
King of Pop
Music
Arranger
DANCE:
In the 1990s, a style of pop music that was
influenced by samba-reggae in its creation, is known as
Axé Music (ah-SHEH)
Samba-reggae has given rise to a style of
African-influenced dance derived from Afro-Brazilian and
candomble dance moves. In a social setting, samba-reggae dances
tend to be done in a follow-the-leader fashion, with a few
skilled dancers initiating moves in a line in front of the
crowd, and the whole crowd then following along. In addition,
samba-reggae drummers often dance while they drum. The third-
and fourth-surdos do short choreographies, using their mallets
to emphasize arm moves. Most dramatically, the fundos (first and
second surdos) frequently take center stage to do elaborate,
showy mallet lifts and throws, and tossing their huge drums high
overhead.
Didá Dance and Percussion School:
Didá Dance and Percussion school
began with
the proceeds from Neguinho' collaboration with Paul Simon Rhythm
of the Saints being put into buying a building rather
than a car as Simon had suggested. According to Débora de Souza, one
of his daughters, when Mr. Simon first heard the new
samba-raggae style, he hired the band to play with him
on the album “Rhythm of the Saints” in 1990 and Mr. de
Souza to perform with him in Central Park the following
year
Many activities of the "banda feminina"
of the school happen on
streets of Pelourinho, which give the children the
opportunity to explore and demonstrate what they have
learned and share it with others.
The Dida Bloco de Carnival came out soon after their
founding for a 1994 Carnaval debut, nearly 200 women participated, and
discovered an avenue for their hopes. They took the route from the Pelourinho to
the Campo Grande wearing red overalls and yellow turbans,
symbolizing gypsy woman. Neguinho surprised the group by finding a powerful trio electrico
to make their debut memorable and successful.
CONCLUSION:
Samba-reggae is not just the most
infectious rhythm to be created for Carnaval at the dawn
of the third millennium but also represents a successful
effort by black Brazilians to develop a Carnival parade
music highlighting the deep roots to the rhythms of
Africa this percussion music represents. Their Carnaval
groups were as much about mutual aid and community
development as fun, dance and music.
A shared beliefs among the Salvador
Carnaval participants is that their annual efforts
reimagine and strengthen their community through the
revelry of carnival and the magic of a time outside of
normal time. The Carnaval performance is an event
celebrating communal life, and a vital product of the year's
cycle, reflecting the best offering the community can
give to their city. Like the annual cycle of life, these
performances are made anew every year with new themes, new songs and
rhythms and are as much for each other as the out of town
visitors.
Neguinho de
Samba is buried at
Neguinho
de Samba's funeral procession, on Nov. 3,2009
was followed by 4,000 people dancing and singing his songs. Olodum and Filhos de Gandhi, were part of the procession as was
the body of the musician. The procession left at 10am, the
headquarters
Jardim
da Saudade
of Didá,
accompanied by 50 female members of the
band and passed by the headquarters of the Filhos de Gandhi
and Olodum in the Pelourinho, where
he was received with honors. The
musician Carlinhos Brown attended the
funeral and helped carry the coffin of
Neguinho Samba. From
there, the procession continued to the Municipal Square, where
the body was taken in a truck for burial at the cemetery Jardim
da Saudade. Around 17 hours, Didá played a musical tribute
to their founder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olodum
One of many similar groups in the city (and elsewhere in
Brazil), it offers cultural activities to young people,
largely centered around music; it also offers theatrical
productions and other activities. Founded in 1979, its
stated aims are to combat racism, to encourage
self-esteem and pride among Afro Brazilians, and to
fight for civil rights for all marginalized groups.
Olodum is widely credited with developing the music
style known as samba reggae and for its active
participation in carnaval each year. Neguinho do Samba,
the lead percussionist, created a mix of the traditional
Brazilian samba beat with merengue, salsa, and reggae
rhythms for the Carnaval of 1986. This became known as
samba-reggae. This "bloco afro" music is closely tied to
its African roots, as seen through its percussion
instruments, participatory dancing and unique rhythm .
It also directly draws from many Caribbean cultures,
like Cuba and Puerto Rico.
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas/news/2143
Didá was the first percussion group in Salvador to
include—and specifically focus on—women. It is through
Didá that Neguinho began to collaborate with students
and faculty at The University of Texas. Over the years,
he regularly welcomed university visitors, researchers,
and volunteers into Didá to showcase its projects and
promote its mission.
I knew Neguinho (everybody in
Bahia knows Neguinho!) for a long time, but got to
know him much better in 1995 during a few months
when I was there doing field work for my
dissertation. His warmth, caring and concern for the
people of Bahia were amazing. His dream of building
a music school was realized, and his work with the
all women’s percussion band Dida’ was
revolutionary.”
It is such a loss. We are,
however, fortunate to have many “filhos” of Neguinho.
Not only his actual children, but his musical
children as well. O rufar dos tambores nao para. We
will all miss him sorely.
Neguinho do Samba-Reggae
[
Translate this page ]Foi no Olodum
que Neguinho do Samba teve a oportunidade de
tocar com artistas de ... Você poderia se juntar
ao Bob Marley (à música) e dizer que essa
música é ... Mais tarde, Paul Simon
prometeu dar-lhe um carro importado, mas Neguinho...
www.lupa.facom.ufba.br/2009/11/neguinho-do-samba-reggae/
-
Cached
The Pelorigno
In the 1990s, a major city
project cleaned up and restored the old historic center or
Pelourinho. Now, the Pelourinho is a cultural center, and the
very heart of Salvador's tourist trade featuring colonial-era
buildings, broad plazas and many grand cathedrals marking the
time when Salvador was the most important city in South America.
Salvador was the capital of Brazil from 1552 to 1763 and the busiest,
richest port
in the South Atlantic during this time. Perched on a cliff high above the
its beautiful blue bay are cobblestone streets flanked by colorful
buildings and the nation's largest collection of colonial
architecture. The sheer number of grand decaying Churches has
yet to find a solution but the Pelorigno today has been rescued
from its more recent past as the city's red-light district and
is the heart of the thriving visitor industry centered on
Afro-Brazilian culture.
"Pelourinho" means pillory or whipping post.
And Salvador's pelourinho stood at the top of the sloping
Largo do Pelourinho. The fourth and final point in a journey
which began in the city's first open market in the Praça da
Feira (today known as Praça Municipal or Praca de Se
-- the open square at the top of the Elevador Lacerda).
The pelourinho stood at the market's center.
Then sometime between 1602 and 1607 during the Governorship of
Dom Diogo Botelho -- the pelourinho was moved by governor's
decree to the Terreio de Jesus. Just around the corner
from Praca de Se, you will enter Terreiro de Jesus. The Museu
Afro-Brasiliero and Igrega de Sao Francisco are the
two most prominent attactions flanking this square.
Whippings produce unholy sounds and the
Terreiro de Jesus was the site of the Jesuits' church and
school. So it was removed again and repositioned at the bottom
of the Ladeira de São Bento (where Praça Castro Alves
is now located).
Again it was removed, for the final time, in 1807, and taken to
the Largo do Pelourinho which would come to bear
its name. It would stand there for another 28 years. Igreja
de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, a church built by
the slaves, for the slaves. They weren't allowed to worship at
other churches and at this church they maintained many of their
African traditions and languages.
Today these are all famous points for public gatherings in the
City of Happiness especially during the Carnaval.
Dida
Didá Escola de Música
Dida was born in a place so blessed
A place where our honored humanity
Lived in a slavery
Which grew big claws and fought big fights
(from the song
Dida de Salvador by Neguinho do
Samba)
Didá Music School was founded on December 13th,
1993, by maintainer and mentor, Maestro Neguinho do Samba. Dida is a
non-profit cultural institution that aims to improve the quality
of lives through music and arts. The school W is based in
transformational musical teaching and serious educational work. The
classes that are offered for the community are: percussion, string
instruments, keyboard, singing and capoeira, Afro-Brazilian dance
theatre and art.
The women are given an opportunity to become educated
on their origin, build self-esteem, and wide their perspectives for a
better future. This can mean relearning pre-conceived notions about
their "place" in society
Dida often portrays the famous Brazilian
slave Anastacia who was
enslaved and cruelly treated by her owners. Anastacia stoically
bears these traumas and treats all people with love. Anastacia
is believed to have possessed tremendous healing powers and to
have performed miracles. Eventually, she is punished by her
owners by being forced to wear a muzzle-like facemask that
prevented her from speaking with a heavy iron collar. Reasons
vary from the mistress jealous of her beauty or refusal to
submit to her master's amorous advances. After a prolonged
period of suffering, Anastacia died of tetnus from the collar
and as she passed she healed the son of her Master and Mistress
and forgave their cruelty as she died.
Dida Banda Feminina:
A Mulher Gera O Mundo
Genre: WORLD MUSIC
Label: BMG
Release date: 1997
The Dida bloco Carnaval themes generally relate to women. In the year of 2000
the bloco grew and brought together with children, families and friends
and became one of the Carnaval's largest at 6000 people.
A decade later,
on October 31st, 2009 tragedy stuck when the leader, patron and founder Neguinho do Samba passed away unexpectedly.
stricken with a heart attack at age 54.
Brazilian Blocos Afros are community
organizations which represent the personality, and
address the needs of the residents who live there. The
blocos are a socio-evolutionary product of black desire
to protest oppression during the worst years of military
dictatorship in the 1960's and 1970s.
The emphasis of Olodum and Didá, which
Neguinho later founded, is on inculcating dignity and
self-esteem, encouraging self help and fostering self
reliance". The approach has been remarkably successful
in many ways and worthy of any genuine offer of
assistance which does not expect something in return.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Escrava_Anastacia A
slave woman of
African descent, Anastacia is depicted as possessing
incredible beauty, having piercing blue eyes and wearing an
oppressive facemask. Not officially recognized by the
Catholic Church, Anastacia is still an important figure in
popular Catholic devotion throughout Brazil. She is also
venerated by members of the
Umbanda and
Spiritist traditions. She has also been portrayed in Brazil
in books, radio programs and a highly successful television
miniseries bearing her name.
luzdosol.com
girlbeat.htmlGirl Beat [2004] takes us into the
lives of three members of the all-girl music group
Banda Dida a film
by the San Francisco Bay Area's
Suzanne Girot and Renato Frota
Emancipate yourself from mental
slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.
---Bob Marley
"The work that Didá does
causes the community to evolve, to know its rights and the
rights of others, its importance and the importance of others,
"so that we can have a
society with more equality and freedom, understanding that
anything is possible when there is respect.
"We all have the right to eat
well, live well, and have a good education."
is how Neguinho de Samba described Dida's mission.
“Life is one big road with lots of signs.
So when you riding
through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate,
mischief and jealousy. Don't bury
your thoughts, put your vision to reality
"Dona Canô"-
(Daniela Mercury, Mariene de Castro & Banda Dida)
Dona Cano is a samba-reggae anthem
written by the father of the rhythm. Neguinho do Samba.
Remembered here at
carnaval.com/drum/neguinho for his monumental
contributions to percussion at the close of the 20th century. He
passed away on October 31st 2009 at the age of 54. Banda Didá,
is an all-female Afro-reggae band that that represents a larger
program that uses the power
of drums to overcome percieved limitations of race, class, and
gender. Didá is a Yoruba word meaning "power
of creation."
Neguinho is survived by seven children and
six grandchildren.
worker and street peddler, all the while
tapping rhythms.
the timbau, a
drum which came to be associated with Timbalada. Neguinho
organized a group that developed a process for building drums in
his father's workshop. The availability of affordable drums
contributed to the revival of Salvador's most historic district,
Pelourinho, where the Portuguese had auctioned slaves.
and by 1986 they had
established themselves as the premier performers of a
new genre of music.
Didá Dance and Percussion school
began with
the proceeds from Neguinho' collaboration with Paul Simon Rhythm
of the Saints being put into buying a building rather
than a car as Simon had suggested. According to Débora de Souza, one
of his daughters, when Mr. Simon first heard the new
samba-raggae style, he hired the band to play with him
on the album “Rhythm of the Saints” in 1990 and Mr. de
Souza to perform with him in Central Park the following
year
enslaved and cruelly treated by her owners. Anastacia stoically
bears these traumas and treats all people with love. Anastacia
is believed to have possessed tremendous healing powers and to
have performed miracles. Eventually, she is punished by her
owners by being forced to wear a muzzle-like facemask that
prevented her from speaking with a heavy iron collar. Reasons
vary from the mistress jealous of her beauty or refusal to
submit to her master's amorous advances. After a prolonged
period of suffering, Anastacia died of tetnus from the collar
and as she passed she healed the son of her Master and Mistress
and forgave their cruelty as she died.
Didá Escola de Música
through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate,
mischief and jealousy. Don't bury
your thoughts, put your vision to reality