Pixinguinha

Lore & Background

Pixinguinha was born to musician Alfredo da Rocha Viana, a flutist who hosted musical gatherings. He began performing in Rio de Janeiro's Lapa district in 1912, later playing flute for silent film accompaniment at Cine Rio Branco. In 1914, he co-founded the band Caxangá with João Pernambuco and Donga, which disbanded in 1919. That same year, he formed Os Oito Batutas with his brother and others, a group that became a sensation across Brazil despite facing racial disapproval from the white elite. Their repertoire included folk music, sambas, maxixes, waltzes, polkas, and 'Brazilian tangos.' Sponsored by Arnaldo Guinle, they toured Europe in 1921, performing in Paris for six months, and later recorded in Buenos Aires for RCA Victor. After Paris, Pixinguinha incorporated jazz and ragtime, adding saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, and drum kit to the band, which was renamed Os Batutas.

Reader's Guide

Pixinguinha's significance lies in his fusion of 19th-century Brazilian traditional music with modern jazz-inspired harmonies, sophisticated arrangements, and Afro-Brazilian rhythms, which helped establish choro as a cultural cornerstone. He was among the first Brazilian musicians to embrace radio and studio recording, broadening his audience. His work with Os Oito Batutas sparked controversy over race and foreign influence, yet the band appealed to nationalist desires for uniquely Brazilian music. His later arrangements incorporated ragtime and jazz, initially criticized but later revered. His compositions, such as 'Carinhoso' and 'Lamentos,' are now canonical. The National Day of Choro, celebrated on April 23, honors him, though his actual birth date was discovered in 2016 to be May 4. His use of Afro-Brazilian percussion instruments like the pandeiro and afoxé became standard in choro and samba. Pixinguinha's legacy endures through his influence on Brazilian popular music and the professionalization of the music industry via regionals.

Did You Know?

• Pixinguinha's actual birth date was discovered in November 2016 to be April 23, not May 4, and Brazil's National Day of Choro is celebrated on April 23.
• He sold the rights to his compositions to Benedito Lacerda, who is credited as co-composer on many tunes, even those composed when Lacerda was a young boy.
• Os Oito Batutas performed in the lobby of the Cine Palais movie theater, where their music became more popular than the films themselves.
• Pixinguinha died at his home in Rio de Janeiro.