ORKESTRA RUMPILEZZ: MUSICAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF AFRO-BAHIAN IDENTITIES by Juan Diego Diaz Meneses A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Ethnomusicology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) March 2014 © Juan Diego Diaz Meneses, 2014 Abstract This dissertation examines the relationship between music and politics of black identities in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil), an epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture. It focuses on discourses of blackness and on the role of grooves, instruments, symbolism, and perceptions of carnival music, candomblé, and jazz in the contruction of black identities in Bahia. I propose a model that integrates discourses of black primitivism and empowerment with seven notions commonly associated with black and African music: rhythmicity, percussiveness, spirituality, communalism, embodiment, traditionalism, and closeness to nature. My contribution uses a Foucauldian interpretation of these notions to explain how they work together to form discourses of blackness, not on the notions themselves for they are all widely known. The model accommodates a wide range of interpretations of these themes offering more flexible views of blackness. A Bahian big band called Rumpilezz that blends jazz with various forms of Afro- Bahian music (such as candomblé and samba-reggae), serves as my laboratory for applying this model. Aspects of public self-representation, performance practice, music structure, and musical reception are analyzed. Taking a constructivist approach, this study aims to respond to the following questions: 1) How do the most influential preconceived ideas about “African” music and culture impact musical activity in Bahia?; 2) What opportunities emerge when musical forms perceived as Afro-Brazilian encounter others seen as foreign?; and 3) How does music in Bahia express discourses of blackness? This work, based on ethnographic research, historical, cultural, and musical analysis, demonstrates that, in promoting black empowerment, Rumpilezz emphasizes the themes of rhythmicity, percussiveness and spirituality, and downplays the notions of closeness to nature and embodiment. In doing so, the orchestra reinforces the place of Bahia, and particularly of Bahian candomblé, as diasporic centers of black tradition. Finally, Rumpilezz is located in a broader tradition of jazz bands in the diaspora that appropriates African-diasporic music to promote black pride. ii Preface This research project was designed and executed by the author under the supervision of Professor Michael Tenzer. The various phases included writing a research prospectus (between September and December 2011), conducting fieldwork in Salvador, Bahia (between January and June 2012), analyzing data (from July 2012 to July 2013) and writing (from October 2012 to February 2014). Date collection in a provious visit to Salvador between June and August 2009 is also used. The dissertation is a significant elaboration of a paper written by the author in 2012: “Orkestra Rumpilezz: Reinventing the Bahian Percussion Universe.” ICTUS, Journal of the School of Music of the Federal University of Bahia, 13 (1): 6-40. Ethics clearance to conduct fieldwork in Salvador, Bahia for this project was approved on December 8, 2011 by the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board (ID: H11-02541) and completed on December 12, 2012. The title of the approved project was “Musical Africanization and Re-Africanization: Strategies for Producing Locality in Bahia” with the Principal Investigator being Professor Michael Tenzer. Images and citations in this dissertation are used with permission of the owners as stipulated by the Theses and Dissertation section of Copyright UBC. All music examples and charts are produced by the author. iii Table of Contents Abstract.........................................................................................................................................ii Preface.........................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.........................................................................................................................iv List of Tables................................................................................................................................ix List of Figures...............................................................................................................................x Glossary.....................................................................................................................................xiii Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................................xv 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................1 Delimitation of the Research Project......................................................................................3 Evolution of the Research Project...........................................................................................5 The Object of Study................................................................................................................6 Hemispheric Views of Jazz......................................................................................................7 Defining Key Concepts.............................................................................................................8 Power, Politics and Identity..................................................................................................10 Blackness: Race and Ethnicity.............................................................................................11 Culture as a Resource...........................................................................................................13 The Local and the Global: Producing Locality....................................................................15 “Africa,” “Europe,” and the “West”.....................................................................................16 Research Methods..................................................................................................................16   Semi-Structured Interviews and Informal Conversations....................................................17   Cultural Analysis..................................................................................................................17   Bi-musicality: Music Lessons..............................................................................................18   Transcription and Music Analysis........................................................................................19 Embodied Listening..............................................................................................................20 Participant Observation........................................................................................................20 Following the Path of the Orixás..........................................................................................20 Studying Orkestra Rumpilezz...............................................................................................22 Composition of the Dissertation............................................................................................22 iv 2. Bahia in the African Diaspora...............................................................................................25 Circulation in the Diaspora...................................................................................................25 Placing Bahia in the Black Atlantic......................................................................................27   Africanism, Creolism, and Essentialism...............................................................................32 Diasporic Identity Formation: Nationhood and Double Consciousness...........................35 Music as Representative of Black Atlantic Culture............................................................37 Afro-Diasporic Religions as Representatives of Black Tradition......................................39 Outspoken Black Empowerment: Movements and Ideologies...........................................42 The African American Civil Rights and Black Power Movements.....................................42 The Rastafari Movement......................................................................................................45 De-Colonization of African Countries.................................................................................48 A Word on Pan-Africanism and Afrocentrism.....................................................................50 Products of Afro-Bahian Culture..........................................................................................53 3. Discourses of Musical Africanness........................................................................................55 My Use of the Term Discourse..............................................................................................46 African Music as African Groove.........................................................................................58 A Model for the Analysis of Discourses................................................................................61 Theme 1: African Music is Centered in Rhythm and/or Rhythmically Complex............65 Theme 2: African Music is Dominated by Percussion........................................................68   Theme 3: Groove as a Metaphor of Participatory Communalism....................................72   Theme 4: African Music and Culture is (Very) Embodied................................................76   Theme 5: Emphasis on Spirituality.......................................................................................81   Theme 6: Emphasis on Tradition, Past, and Respect for the Ancestors...........................87   Theme 7: Closeness to Nature...............................................................................................88 4. Musical Encounters: Constructions of Otherness in Bahia...............................................92 The Difficulties of “Us” and “Them”....................................................................................92 The Other in Western Art Music..........................................................................................93 The Other in (the Discourse of) World Music......................................................................95 The Other's Others: Samba in Brazil....................................................................................96 v The African Diaspora's Other...............................................................................................98 Jazz in Brazil and Salvador.................................................................................................100 Jazz Becomes Bossa Nova.................................................................................................102 A Bahian Style of Jazz.......................................................................................................103 Perceptions of Jazz in Brazil and Bahia.............................................................................105 Combinations with a Purpose.............................................................................................108 Concluding Remarks............................................................................................................116 5. Reinventing Afro-Bahian Music Through Public Discourse and Performance Practice...............................................................................................................117 Orkestra Rumpilezz.............................................................................................................118 Self-Representation: Public Interviews..............................................................................120 “Our Music has Strong African Roots”..............................................................................120 “We Dignify Afro-Bahian Music”....................................................................................121 “This Is How We Do It”: Describing A Compositional Method.......................................124 “The Alabê Plays As In The Terreiro”: Centrality of Candomblé....................................126 Self-Representation: On the Stage......................................................................................129 Choice of Instruments.........................................................................................................130 Positioning of the Musicians on the Stage.........................................................................133 Color and Style of Clothing................................................................................................134 Approaches to Musical Notation........................................................................................135 Bodily Movement While Playing.......................................................................................137 Speech Between Pieces......................................................................................................139 Discussion..............................................................................................................................142 6. From Candomblé and Carnival Grooves to Big-band Grooves: A Method of Analysis...............................................................................................................143 A Method of Analysis for Afro-Diasporic Grooves...........................................................143 Timelines............................................................................................................................146 Layering..............................................................................................................................151 Improvisation and Variation...............................................................................................151 Microtiming........................................................................................................................153 vi Candomblé Grooves and Melodies.....................................................................................155 The Ceremony....................................................................................................................155 Instrumentation and Normative Roles................................................................................157 Forming Candomblé Grooves............................................................................................159 Timelines............................................................................................................................159 Layering..............................................................................................................................160 Improvisation and Variation...............................................................................................161 Microtiming in Candomblé................................................................................................163 Other Layers: Songs and Melodies.....................................................................................164 Bahian Carnival Grooves: Blocos Afro and Samba-Reggae............................................166 Instrumentation...................................................................................................................168 The Groove: Samba Reggae...............................................................................................168 Timelines............................................................................................................................169 Layering..............................................................................................................................169 Improvisation and Variation...............................................................................................170 Microtiming: O Suingue Bahiano......................................................................................170 Form...................................................................................................................................171 The Groove in Jazz Big-Bands............................................................................................172 Timelines in jazz.................................................................................................................178 Improvisation......................................................................................................................179 Microtiming: Jazz Swing....................................................................................................181 Orchestral Black Grooves....................................................................................................182 7. Reinventing Afro-Bahian Music Through Musical Structure.........................................185 Timelines...............................................................................................................................185 Layering in “Floresta Azul”................................................................................................191   Maintaining the Heterogeneous Sound Ideal.....................................................................195   Playing Drums with the Horns...........................................................................................196   A Word About Melodies....................................................................................................199 Improvisation and Variation...............................................................................................200 Rum Solos..........................................................................................................................201 Melodic Solos.....................................................................................................................205 vii Free Jazz Solo.....................................................................................................................206 Microtiming...........................................................................................................................208 How Does Swing Impact the Horns?.................................................................................212 Concluding Remarks............................................................................................................214 8. Embodied Politics in the Reception of Black Music..........................................................216 Listening with the Body.......................................................................................................218 Somasthetics.......................................................................................................................219 A Somaesthetics Centered in Candomblé..........................................................................221 Listening to “Floresta Azul”...............................................................................................224 The Politics of Black Grooves..............................................................................................229 Discussion..............................................................................................................................232 9. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................234 Themes of Africanness.........................................................................................................208 Black Identities Beyond Binaries: Is it Possible?...............................................................238 The Role of Jazz....................................................................................................................241 Areas of Future Research....................................................................................................244 “Africa” Producing Locality...............................................................................................247 Bibliography..............................................................................................................................248 viii List of Tables Table 3.1 Key for drum notation in Figure 3.1.............................................................................61 Table 5.1 Steps of atabaque players in “Floresta Azul”.............................................................139 Table 6.1 Common timelines in Bahian Ketu candomblé..........................................................160 Table 6.2 Key for drum notation in Figure 6.4...........................................................................162 Table 6.3 Variations of mojo in Santos’ compositions..............................................................175 Table 7.1 Toques and timelines associated with each piece of the Rumpilezz's repertoire.......186 Table 7.2 Alignment of vassi, vassi's inversion, and timeline of “Das Arabias”.......................190 Table 7.3 Key for drum notation in Figures 7.5 and 7.12..........................................................192 Table 7.4 Form of “Floresta Azul” and corresponding rum phrases..........................................204 Table 7.5 Flute solo in “Floresta Azul” (6:28-7:22)...................................................................207 Table 7.6 Subtle oscillations of tempo in “Floresta Azul”.........................................................209 Table 7.7 Difference between metronomic and actual onsets of subdivisions in percussive passage of “Floresta Azul” (1:08-1:14)................................................................210 Table 7.8 Difference between metronomic and actual onsets of subdivisions in percussive passage of “Floresta Azul” (6:10-6:29)................................................................211 Table 7.9 Difference between metronomic and actual onsets of subdivisions in two passages of “Floresta Azul”............................................................................................212 ix List of Figures Figure 2.1 Bloco afro Olodum parading in Salvador and Olodum’s logo exhibiting the colors of the Rastafari movement...........................................................................................47 Figure 3.1 Structure of toque Barravento.....................................................................................61 Figure 3.2 Model of discursive formation applied to blackness..................................................64 Figure 5.1 Representation of Letieres Leite’s model of musical Afro-Bahian heritage.............120 Figure 5.2. Performance of Rumpilezz and Neojiba Youth Symphonic Orchestra at Teatro Castro Alves, Salvador, Bahia....................................................................................123 Figure 5.3 Rum patterns in ijexá and in “Feira e Sete Portas”...................................................127 Figure 5.4. Brass instruments playing in “percussive” ways. Fragment of “Floresta Azul” (5:54-3:05)........................................................................................................132 Figure 5.5 Spatial configuration of Orkestra Rumpilezz on the stage.......................................133 Figure 5.6. Closing cue used in samba duro and samba afro.....................................................141 Figure 6.1 Reference structure implied by an Afro-Cuban clave timeline.................................148 Figure 6.2 Typical swinging of tresillos in Afro diasporic music..............................................154 Figure 6.3 Toque ijexá................................................................................................................159 Figure 6.4 Series of rum phrases in toque ijexá.........................................................................162 Figure 6.5 Song “Okê Odé” for Oxossi and agogô pattern........................................................165 Figure 6.6 Two rum variations for toque aguere........................................................................166 Figure 6.7 Samba-reggae groove................................................................................................167 Figure 6.8 Form of bloco afro performances..............................................................................171 Figure 6.9 Samba-reggae convenção..........................................................................................171 Figure 6.10 Samba-reggae paradinha at fast tempo...................................................................172 Figure 6.11 Samba-reggae closing cue.......................................................................................172 Figure 6.12 Brass vamps, voice, and timeline in “Saudação ao Rei Nagô”...............................174 Figure 6.13 Moacir Santos’ mojo pattern...................................................................................174 x