Oito Batutas
Title
Oito Batutas
Description
Os Oito Batutas (or "The Eight Aces") was the most influential Brazilian band of the 1920s. Led by the composer, flautist, and saxophonist Pixinguinha (Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho), the band specialized in choro and related Brazilian dance genres. Oito Batutas was an integrated band featuring Black musicians such as Pixinguinha and Donga alongside whites. Although both Pixinguinha and Donga came from middle-class families, the group specialized in musical styles associated with the working class. During a six-month visit to Paris, the group incorporated jazz instrumentation; their music was celebrated by Parisian audiences as Black music. Upon their return to Rio de Janeiro, they were celebrated as the musical embodiment of Brazilian national identity. The following year, they recorded for Victor in the company's Buenos Aires studios. They are often seen as early progenitors of the iconic Brazilian genre of samba.
Members
Pixinguinha (flute)
Donga (guitar)
Raul Palmieri (guitar)
Nelson Alves (cavaquinho)
China (vocals, guitar, piano)
José Alves (mandolin, ganzá)
Luis de Oliveira (bandola, reco-reco)
Genre
choro, samba
Started performing
1919
Os Oito Batutas (or "The Eight Aces") was the most influential Brazilian band of the 1920s. Led by the composer, flautist, and saxophonist Pixinguinha (Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho), the band specialized in choro and related Brazilian dance genres. Oito Batutas was an integrated band featuring Black musicians such as Pixinguinha and Donga alongside whites. Although both Pixinguinha and Donga came from middle-class families, the group specialized in musical styles associated with the working class. During a six-month visit to Paris, the group incorporated jazz instrumentation; their music was celebrated by Parisian audiences as Black music. Upon their return to Rio de Janeiro, they were celebrated as the musical embodiment of Brazilian national identity. The following year, they recorded for Victor in the company's Buenos Aires studios. They are often seen as early progenitors of the iconic Brazilian genre of samba.
