[Dixielandjazz] Hot Brazilian music - Choro (not exactly jazz, but very related)

[Hans en Corrie Koert]

 Great David that you discovered Choro music. Really it's great.
I discovered it thanks to a friend Jørgen who invited me for a Choro concert
by the Choro Brasil Scandinavia band in Copenhagen summer 2005.
Choro has been developed, just like Jazz, as an social gathering playing
music, improvising on traditional themes, sitting together. 
You pointed the members of this list to our ( Jørgen is the editor of it)
http://choro-music.blogspot.com with a lot of interesting contributions
about this Brazilian Dixieland as it is often labeled. You're invited to
visit this site.  If you need info I can forward your message to Jørgen,
who's an expert on this kind of the globe.

Keep swinging

Hans



-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] Namens David Richoux
Verzonden: zaterdag 20 december 2008 21:08
Aan: Hans Koert
CC: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Onderwerp: [Dixielandjazz] Hot Brazilian music - Choro (not exactly jazz,but
very related)

Some research I have been doing lately (if you are on some of the other tuba
or jazz related groups, you might have seen some of this.) I am sure
list-mates from Brazil will be able to fill us in on the details... the
topic has come up in the past.

   There was a very popular style of music in Brazil from the 1840s through
the 1940s called Choro - it was an improvised blend of European Polkas,
Waltzes, and other dance songs mixed with African and South American
indigenous rhythms, played by amateur and semi-pro musicians. Wind and
stringed instruments were played, along with vocals and percussion. North
American Ragtime and Jazz influences were added to the mix in the late 1800s
and early 1900s - Samba eventually became more popular, but there is a major
revival of Choro style going on today!  (A related style is Forro - a more
modern version of Choro.)

The word "Choro" is roughly translated as "Cry" and from what I have
gathered  that word has to do with an emphasis on descending note patterns
in the melody and improvised solos. Interestingly, (especially for tuba
players) the Ophicleide was a major instrument in the bands and there were
many famous players of that difficult instrument. The saxophone eventually
replaced the Ophicleide in Brazil by the 1930s. The musician known as
Pixinguinha is probably the most famous star in the style, but there were
many other famous players and band leaders.

I have been reading "Choro - A social History of a Brazilian Popular Music"
by Tamara Elena Livingston-Isenhour and Thomas George Caracas - one of the
few books written in English on the subject of Choro (and apparently there
is not much written in Portuguese, either!)

There are a few websites that cover this style of music - a link to Hans
Koert's blog:
http://keepswinging.blogspot.com/2006/06/more-choro.html  and there are more
links in the comments section of this blog (and a related Choro Blog at
http://choro-music.blogspot.com )


 From there I found a free collection of the music of Pixinguinha and other
Choro musicians from the early 1900s onwards!
(web translation is a bit rough, but you should be able to navigate without
pretty well.)
http://acervos.ims.uol.com.br/php/level.php?lang=pt&component=38&item=37

then click on the 4 links to Music Composed, Interpreted, Executed, or
composed and interpreted by Pixinguinha.

Some of the recordings remind me of early Blues fife & Drum field
recordings, others are quite polished, swinging and enjoyable. If you
especially like early string bands, be sure to check this all out - I think
you all will find some interesting parallels between early Jazz and Choro.

David RIchoux

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