17 Facts About Pixinguinha

Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho, known as Pixinguinha was a Brazilian composer, arranger, flautist and saxophonist born in Rio de Janeiro.

Pixinguinha composed popular music, particularly within the genre of music known as choro.

Pixinguinha was one of the first Brazilian musicians and composers to take advantage of radio broadcasting technology and studio recording.

Pixinguinha was the son of musician Alfredo da Rocha Viana, a flautist who maintained a large collection of older choro scores and hosted frequent musical gatherings at his home.

Pixinguinha learned to play the flute at home but soon became a pupil of Irineu de Almeida, composing his first piece at age 14 and making his first recording at age 16.

Pixinguinha then became the flutist in the house orchestra at the Cine Rio Branco movie theater.

Os Oito Batutas, and Pixinguinha specifically, were the target of attacks reflecting anxieties about race and the influence of Europe and the United States on Brazilian music.

Pixinguinha began to incorporate jazz standards and ragtime into his group's repertoire, changing the lineup dramatically by adding saxophones, trumpets, trombone, piano, and a drum kit.

Pixinguinha had purchased a saxophone for his personal use which he began to experiment with.

In 1939 he was succeeded by well-known composer Radames Gnattali, and Pixinguinha left Victor to join flautist Benedito Lacerda's band, where he took up the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument and continued to compose music for the group.

Pixinguinha spent his time in retirement, appearing in public only on rare occasions.

Pixinguinha died in 1973 in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Paz in Ipanema while attending a baptism.

Pixinguinha is depicted in the 2021 biographical film Pixinguinha, Um Homem Carinhoso.

Whereas many of the older compositions were intended to be played on piano, Pixinguinha's works took full advantage of the larger musical groups with which he worked, incorporating intricate melodic lines, brassy fanfares, contrapuntal bass lines, and highly syncopated rhythms.

Pixinguinha was one of the first band leaders to regularly include Afro-Brazilian percussion instruments, such as the pandeiro and afoxe, that have now become standard in choro and samba music.

Pixinguinha's arrangements were probably influenced by the sound of ragtime and American jazz bands that became popular early in his career.

When he released "Carinhoso" in 1930 and "Lamentos" in 1928, Pixinguinha was criticized for incorporating too much of a jazz sound into his work.