Orquestra Afro Brasileira

Obaluaye Orquestra Afro Brasileira

Ground-breaking orchestral jazz rooted in Afro-Brazilian rhythms and Yorubaspirituality, Obaluayê is one of the most important albums in Brazilian musicalhistory.

Little is known about Orquestra Afro-Brasileira, and that which is tends towardsfolklore. Conducted by maestro Abigail Moura, the group took to the stage around ahundred times between 1942 and 1970, releasing just two records - the eponymous1968 album Orquestra Afro-Brasileria and Obaluayê, originally released onTodamerica in 1957.

A self-taught conductor and arranger, Abigail assembled Orquestra Afro-Brasileira inorder to tell stories of Afro-Brazilian heritage and speak of the "dramas and tragediesexperienced by my race". The Orquestra celebrated significant dates and influentialBlack Brazilian historical figures in its performances, with a repertoire that movedbetween folk tales, Candomblé chants and macumbas (or invocations) of orixá - theYoruba deities sent by Olodumare to provide guidance for life on earth.

Comprised of around twenty musicians, the Orquestra combined traditionalBrazilian and West African percussion instruments such as Agogô, Afoxé, Ganzá, Atabaques and Angona-puíta, with the sounds of saxophones, trombones, clarinetsand the piano from the big band jazz tradition.

Inspired by the orixá responsible for the balance between disease and cure, Obaluayê opens with a sermon, tracing the origins of the rhythms and their drums tothe moments of joy, love and resistance that music provided in the horrific dailyconditions faced by African slaves.

For Abigail's protégé and percussionist on the group's 1968 album Carlos Negreiros,the power of the message was little short of life-changing: "I became aware of what itis to be black," he says, "discovering the extraordinary potential of the Afro-Brazilianculture in the making of the national ethos."

Although overlooked at the time, Orquestra Afro-Brasileira inspired a generation ofmusicians such as Moacir Santos, as well as an array of contemporary devotees,such as hip-hop pioneer DJ Nuts and Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr.. ThatCaldato Jr. has since tracked Carlos down to record a third Orquestra album is atestament to its lasting importance.

Reissued on vinyl for the first time in over sixty years by Day Dreamer Records a newsub label from Direct-to-Disc specialists Night Dreamer, Obaluayê is described byCarlos as "an icon of black music in Latin America." The time has come for Abigailand the Orquestra to receive the recognition they deserve.