Brazilian musician, instrumentalist, singer and composer born in the Catumbi neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, famous author of chorinhos in the history of Brazilian popular music. At the age of 12, he made his debut as a professional musician in a beer house in Lapa, called A Concha. Shortly thereafter, he played in the Teatro Rio Branco orchestra, directed by the famous conductor Paulino Sacramento. Despite being a boy among those professionals he did well. His debut was in the play Chegou Neves, where he still played in short pants. He made his first recording at Favorite Record (1911) with the song São João Under Water. He stayed on this label for three years and joined the Grupo do Caxangá (1913), a group organized by João Pernambuco, from Northeastern inspiration, both in repertoire and in clothing, where each member of the ensemble adopted a code name for themselves countryside.
The group became the great musical success of the carnival (1914), with the Tango Dominante (1914) it had its first composition recorded, disc Odeon (1915), with interpretation by Bloco dos screws. This year, he began making his first orchestrations for cinemas, theaters, circuses, etc. He started recording at Odeon and his first album would be Morro da favela (1917), a maxixe, and Morro do Pinto, another maxixe. He recorded several albums with songs of his own, and some in which he acted only as a performer. In this beginning, the recordings of the tango Sofres because you want (1917) and the waltz Rosa (1917) stood out.
His great popular success would happen with the samba Já te digo (1919), composed with China, released by Grupo de Caxangá. He formed the group Os Oito Batutas (1919) to sound in cinemas. The group became an attraction on its own, bigger even than the movies themselves, and people flocked to the sidewalk just to listen to them. They quickly gained the reputation of the best typical group of Brazilian music, undertaking tours in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Bahia and Pernambuco. They boarded for Paris, funded by Arnaldo Guinle, at the suggestion of the dancer Duque, promoter of the maxixe abroad (1922), debuting in mid-February at Dancing Sherazade ea This season, scheduled for just one month, lasted until the end of July, when they returned to Brazil to participate in the centenary celebrations of Brazil's Independence. He recorded at Parlophon the choros Lamento e Carinhoso (1922) and the following year they embarked for a season in Argentina, where they recorded thirteen songs. However, differences between the members of the group during their stay in Buenos Aires led to the dissolution of the Brazilian group.
In Brazil, the extraordinary Brazilian musician continued to be successful and married (1927) Albertina da Rocha, D. Betty, then star of Companhia Negra de Revista. He founded the Jazz-Band group Os Batutas (1928). He organized and integrated, as flutist, arranger and conductor, the Grupo da Velha Guarda (1932), a group that brought together some of the greatest instrumentalists Brazilians at the time and made numerous recordings at Victor, also accompanying great singers such as Carmen Miranda, Sílvio Caldas, Mário Reis, among others. He also organized the Diabos do Céu orchestra at Victor (1932). He received a degree in music theory from the National Institute of Music (1933). He was appointed to the position of Public Cleaning Inspector (1933), and adopted a child (1935), Alfredo da Rocha Vianna Neto, Alfredinho. He partnered with Benedito Lacerda for several of his choros (1946) and recorded the following albums together in the following years. He was honored by Mayor Negrão de Lima with the inauguration of Rua Pixinguinha, in the neighborhood of Olaria, where he lived (1956).
He received the City of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Award (1958), a diploma awarded to the best arranger by Correio da Manhã and the National Library. During his lifetime he received around 40 trophies. He suffered a second heart attack (1958), bypassed by doctors. Six years later he suffered a heart attack (1964) and was admitted to the Instituto de Cardiologia. For a period of two years, he withdrew from artistic activities. He was one of the first to record testimony for posterity at the Museum of Image and Sound (1966). It had great repercussion in the press and would later be reproduced in the book As unsombred voices of the Museum (1969).
He received the Order of Commander of the Club de Jazz and Bossa (1967), the Diploma of the Order of Merit of Work, conferred by the President of República and 5th place at the II Festival Internacional da Canção, where he competed with the choro Fala Baixinho (1964), made in partnership with Herminio B. of Oak. D. Betty, his partner for over 40 years, was admitted with heart problems at the Hospital do IASERJ, a hospital where he too would be admitted hours later. D. Betty never knew her husband was also sick. On Sundays, when visiting, he would change his pajamas for his suit and go up a few more floors to see his wife. She died on June 7th, not knowing what was happening to her husband.
He died of heart problems during the baptism ceremony of Rodrigo Otávio, son of his friend Euclides de Souza Lima, held at Nossa Senhora da Paz Church, in Ipanema. Other great successes were Os Oito Batutas (1919), Hold it (1929), Gavião calçudo (1929), Página de dor (1930), Life is a hole (1930), Carnavá is there (1930), Boss arrests your cattle (1931), Samba in fact (1932), At that time (1934), Yaô (1938), The five companions (1942), I cried (1942), Whispering (1944), Naive (1946), I Still Remember (1946), Solon's Prowess (1946), Seresteiro (1946), One to Zero (1946), Go Living (1946) and Better World (1966).
Figure copied from COLLECTOR'S STUDIOS LTDA:
http://www.collectors.com.br/
Source: http://www.dec.ufcg.edu.br/biografias/
Order A - Biography - Brazil School