Every culture or religion has its own myths and
foundations. I am part of a quasi-religious brotherhood
that worships a dark-skinned saint whose habit – maybe
his mission – was that of softening and improving men’s
lives with his holy art. He is Alfredo da Rocha Vianna
Junior, better known as Pixinguinha. In my opinion, his
devotee will always be São Pixinguinha.
Pixinguinha
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H
e said he was born in the zone of Piedade,
but his birth certificate shows he was born in
Catumbi. In reality, he was born in the City of
São Sebastião of Rio de Janeiro, on April 23, 1897
(and not in '98 as was believed for some time). By the way, this is
the date Brazilians celebrate a famous “Warrior Saint”
named Jorge. It was not thoughtlessly that
Di Cavalcanti had the custom of calling him
“My brother in São Jorge, my brother Pixinguinha!”
(Although some say it's insane, I can affirm that I am a witness
of a beautiful picture of Pixinga made by Di. It was there, in his
studio on Catete Street, that the painter was my neighbor).
When they decided it was a good idea to create the
Crying Day, another date could not be chosen:
the birth date of this man who was born to ennoble the genre,
gave it a format and its own language, full of undulating melodies
and rich in modulations. Who, in this life, has not been caught
whistling the song “Carinhoso”? Indeed.
Before physically getting to know Pixinguinha, I used
to listen to Pixinguinha on the radio. Most of all,
I saw him in the flesh for the very first time playing
at a carnival party at the old Galleria Cruzeiro, close to
Café Nice, on Rio Branco Avenue. During the 1940's.
Then, I really met him in the 50’s – the big event was at
Jacob do Bandolim’s house, in Jacarepaguá. Pixinga had already
had a few whiskies and was playing his mother-of-pearl
saxophone the way he enjoyed doing it. His fingers, so long,
so lovely and transparent, were like stalactites. His nails like
alabaster and an African mask sculpted in onyx or a silvery tar and his fingers used to run over the body of the instrument,
extracting absurdly marvelous sounds from it. By that time he
had abandoned the flute. Due to problems with his
embouchure: his mouth had formed fibers
and his lips wouldn’t obey as they made contact
with the flute – so the sax definitively entered his life.
But his wife, Beti, was not resigned... He had the most
beautiful style of blowing among all flute players.
By the way, this is one of the biggest issues for
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his biographers: how to accommodate such multiplicity:
composer, instrumentalist, arranger. Difficult. The critic
Ary Vasconcellos is more realistic and objective:
“If you have 15 volumes to talk about all of Brazilian popular
music, you can be sure that it is not enough. But, if you have
space for just one word, write it down quickly: Pixinguinha”.
From the time he was a child he would play
everywhere, in theaters and at the circus. He experienced
no financial difficulties due to any lack of work.
When his father died, in 1917 (the same year the samba
“Pelo telefone” was recorded), Pixinguinha was already
financially independent. Two years later, a band would have its
debut at the Cine Palais, thus celebrating an era for our music:
Os Oito Batutas. There were Pixinga, Donga, China and
Nelson Alves – all black like him. It was in the Companhia
Negra de Revistas (Black Company of Magazines)
that he met Beti, who would be his wife throughout his life.
Black: he was a black man living in a racist society
that would question his trip to Paris with his companions, in
1922, to represent Brazil. What an insult!! But his genius
defeated all prejudices. Villa-Lobos was one of his
admirers and the musician/composer Basilio Itiberê taught
us that Pixinguinha’s counterpoint (all you have to
do is listen to his recordings with flutist Benedito Lacerda) – was
something from a Master. Speaking of Benedito Lacerda,
it is important to remember that his partnership with
Pixinguinha was merely symbolic. Pixinga
needed money and projection, which the duo provided him –
plus the partnership that was guaranteed through contracts.
The only luxury he allowed himself: drinking.
And he would sip his sacred whisky from Monday to Friday
in “Gouveia”, at Travessa do Ouvidor – where there
is a statue of him cast in bronze. It was the temple where his
friends would go to worship him, the Enchanted King. At that
place were João da Bahiana and Donga, and also Antonio Carlos
Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim who considered him a saint and a
genius and went there one day to ask for his blessing.
We can't tell which of Pixinguinha’s music is the best:
whether it is “Carinhoso”,“Ingênuo”,“Sofres porque queres”,
“Rosa” or “Lamentos”. Because he was a sculptor of
beautiful melodies that are still modern today, with that touch of
eternity that geniuses confer upon what they do. He also
invented beautiful introductions to occasionally poor
melodies that were given to him to orchestrate. Everything
he touched turned to gold. His sense as an arranger
preceded what modernists like Radamés Gnattali did
afterwards. He made motion picture sound tracks after he
exhausted his talent as an arranger and as the author
of all types of music for revue theaters of that period of time.
We can say a little more: he had an acute pictorial sense,
even in the sense of motion pictures, when he created certain
music. He produced descriptive humor in works
such as “O gate e o canário”,“Marreco quer água”,“Um a zero”. In
this last one, his musical narrative matches that of
football commentators describing players magical passes and
circumlocutions. A genius. Erik Satie would not do better.
Yes, I think I should talk about our personal relationship. It began
with a surprising request for me to be his partner in an
International Music Festival – where “Fala, baixinho” was born, as
well as a series of compositions that would widen our friendship.
It was often consolidated by many encounters that he would set
up at the Bar Gouveia, or to share with him roast meat with rust
sauce ("rusty", he would correct) prepared masterfully by his wife,
Beti. Remembering him in my house, spending an afternoon with
me is something that brings me to tears.
I was also honored to produce his last records: “Gente da
Antiga” (with Clementina de Jesus and João da Bahiana) and
“Som Pixinguinha”, both at Emi-Odeon. And I was even able to
take him to the studio to record with Divina Elizeth Cardoso a
samba that we had made together - “Isso é que é viver”.
When Mário de Andrade wanted to know everything about
witchcraft, candomblé and related phenomena in order to write
“Macunaima”, he not only consulted Pixinguinha, but he made
him a character in that rhapsody: Olelê Rui Barbosa, pockmarked Ogan, a player of atabaques [type of drum].
(As far as we know, Pixinguinha never played atabaques and,
at the end of his life he was a devoted Catholic).
And so devoted that I'm going to tell you now that he awoke
that day pensive: I imagine he had crossed himself recalling with
pleasure the visit that Jacob do Bandolim, a friend
and devotee, had paid him a few days before. He was preparing
to be a godfather at a baptism in a church in Copacabana
and he had left a message for me to be there. He was surprised
when I showed up at his house, with no prior warning…I was
missing him very much. A miracle happened: he played the flute
that he had abandoned a long time ago. We said good-bye.
“He died as a saint,” everybody would say a few hours later, when
he bid farewell to all of us within the
Our Lady of Peace Church, in Ipanema.
Bibliography:
Pixinguinha, Vida e Obra (Ed. Funarte, 1978) (Lumiar Edit. 1997).
Filho de Ogum Bexinguento (Marilia T.Barbosa/Arthur Filho. Ed. Funarte,
1978 e Ed. Griphus, 1997).
Since 1958 Hermínio Carvalho has produced hundreds of shows
for the MEC radio station: (“Violão de ontem e de hoje”, “Reminiscências do
Rio de Janeiro”,“Orquestra de Sopros”), as well as for TVE, already in the
1970s. Some of his famous TV series include “Água Viva”,
“Mudando de Conversa”,“Lira do Povo”, and “Contra-Luz”. As a directorscriptwriter, his career is marked by several hits: the “Rosa de Ouro”
musical (1965), which introduced Clementina de Jesus and Paulinho da
Viola; the concert (1968) that brought Elizeth Cardoso, Jacob do Bandolim,
Zimbo Trio, and Época de Ouro together. Also worth mentioning are the
shows entitled “Festa Brasil” (Europe, USA and Canada);“Face a Face”
(1974), with singer Simone;“Te pego pela palavra” (1975), with singer
Marlene;“Caymmi em Concerto” (1985);“Chico Buarque de Mangueira”
(1998), and other shows starring Luiz Gonzaga, Herivelto Martins,
Radamés Gnattali & Camerata Carioca. In 1999 he directed
“Clássicas” (with singers Zezé Gonzaga and Jane Duboc), and
“Sessão Passatempo”, with singer Carol Saboya.
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