Artist page

Orquestra Afro-Brasileira was a Brazilian orchestra founded in 1942 in Rio de Janeiro by a self-taught conductor and arranger named Abigail. The orchestra operated for nearly thirty years until 1970 and released just two albums. Abigail created the Orquestra to narrate stories of Afro-Brazilian heritage and to address the “dramas and tragedies experienced by my race.” Their performances celebrated significant dates and influential Black Brazilian historical figures, featuring a repertoire that included folk tales, Candomblé chants, and macumbas dedicated to orixá, the Yoruba deities sent by Olodumare for guidance on earth. Comprised of around twenty musicians, the Orquestra blended traditional Brazilian and West African percussion instruments, such as Agogô, Afoxé, Ganzá, Atabaques, and Angona-puíta, with saxophones, trombones, clarinets, and piano from the big band jazz tradition.

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