CHORO: Brazilian Popular Instrumental Improvised Music

Clifford Korman
City Coliege ofNew York / The New School University
New York, New York

The nineteenth century in the Americas was a time of profound transition.

Former colonies which had declared
independence began their lives as sovereign nations, slavery was abolish
ed and for the most part officially eradicated,
and the beginning ofurbanization transforined economic, social, and cultura
l landscapes. In the United States, elements
of the genres and styles of minstrel shows, vaudeville, brass bands, field
songs, blues, opera, and ragtime combined
and evolved into jazz and popular music ofthe twentieth century. tu Cuba
and other regions ofthe Caribbean a parailel
development ofnational popular musics occurred, at times intersecting
with the ongoing growth ofAmerican jazz. The
sarne is true for Brazil. Viewed iii a somewhat simplistic way, European
dance, instrumental, and vocal genre were
gradually appropriated and transformed by exposure to Afro-Brazilian traditio
ns of performance practice)
Historians of Brazilian popular music generally agree that the flrst choro 2 bands appeared in Rio de Janeiros
working class neighborhoods in about the year 1870. The ensembies were
small, and almost always included finte as
melody instrument, cavaquinho (akin to the ukulele; soprano guitar) to
provide rhythmic and hannonic support, and
guitar to provide counterlines and bass lines 3 (baixaria). Choro ensembles used the baliroom dance forms import
from Europe and popular in Brazilian “high society” (poilcas, schottisches, ed
tangos, and waltzes), and transformed them
into pieces considered characteristically Brazilian in nature. The subdiv
ision of the cormnon binary meter into a
continuous stream of sixteenth notes was distributed among three fundam
ental parts: embellished and varied melody,
syncopated accompaniment rhythms and apolyphonic texture created by
the voice-leading ofthe accompaniment and
contrapuntal bass melodies. Structurally, a good choro was expected to
contam three sections comprised oftwo to four
measure phrases and maintain the rondo farmat; the sections were genera
lly related by use of the subdominant,
dominant, and relative or parailel major or minor keys as contrasting tonal
centers.
Some of the important composers and practitioners of early choro were
Chiquinha Gonzaga, Ernesto Nazareth,
Anacleto de Medeiros, Joaquim Antônio Calado, Henrique de Mesqu
ita, Irineu Batina, Joao Pernambuco, and the most
famous, Alfredo da Rocha Vianna Filho, nicknamed “Pixinguinha”. Popula
r choros include Um a Zero, Tico-Tico no
4 and Segura Ele. The twentieth-century Brazilian classical compo
Fuba,
ser Heitor Vilia-Lobos wrote bis own set of
choros, reflecting a nationalistic movement to establish art forms and styles
characteristic of the couutry, and to bring
“low” art into the “high” art circles.
Over the ensuing decades ofthe late nineteenth and early twentieth centuri
es choro developed as au instrumental,
virtuosic genre, and the best players were expected to display improvisation
al skills. The improvisations were not of
the type generally associated with American jazz, in which the soloist
uses a fixed harmonic form to generate new
melodies. tu early choro, the soloist usually added virtuosic embellishmen
ts or variations to the performance, and the
musicians responsible for the counterlines and accompaniments improv
ised those parts. As in any oral tradition, an
accepted practice and standard repertoire developed and carne to be
expected from a musician considered a 5 chorão.
An important encounter and intersection with popular music and dance
of the United States occurred iii the first
decades of the twentieth century. Whether by direct transmission
or indirectly through exposure to cultural
developments in Paris, Brazilian musicians learned of ragtime, one- and
two- steps, foxtrots, and early jazz. With the
arrival and rapid growth of the recording and radio industries, this
process was accelerated; by the early 1920’s
Brazilian ensembles bearing the label jazzband appeared. tu the 1930’s
and 1 940’s, American swing, baliroom niusic,
and fim music was well known in the cities of Brazil; the late 1 940’s and
early 1950 ‘s brought bebop, cool jazz, and
hard bop. Each ofthese developments irnpacted on the development
of choro, whether ia a positive or negative sense.
Some influences were embraced; others consciously avoided for both
esthetic and nationalistic reasons.
The purpose ofthis paper is to discuss the role ofimprovisation ia choro.
To provide context 1 will briefiy present
au overview of the emergence and development of choro from its incepti
on to the present day, considering historic
trends including the advancement of technology, the presence of
United States culture, decolonization and resultant
nationalistic movements. Following that 1 will discuss the structure and
content of choro, with a primary focus on the
role of improvisation. It is there that 1 believe that jazz educators and practit
ioners will fmd a history and performing
tradition of great interest. lt parallels the history of North-Ameri
can jazz and exhibits similarities ia terms of the

185
transmission of an oral tradition, a development of a musical language, and the importance of self-expression within
a coilective perforrnance. lt differs through use of distinctive phrases and phrasing, an Afro-Brazilian rhythmical
sensibility, and a standard repertoire unique to the genre. My intent is to iliuminate an improvisational popular music
tradition, with similar roots to jazz, that has developed along different paths to become a unique, dynamic and
contemporary genre.
j1
HISTDPJCAL OVERVIEW
The story ofchoro’s emergence and development is best told by dividing it into phases.

Pre-choro
“Se eu tivesse de apontar uma data para o início da historia do Choro, não hesitaria em dar o mês
de julho de 1845, quando a polca foi dançada pela primeira vez no Teatro São Pedro. A chegada
dessa dança, vinda da Europa central via Paris, foi cercada de grande expectativa graças ao impacto
causado em Lisboa dez meses antes.”

ff1 had to specifS’ a date for the beginning ofthe history of Choro, 1 wouldn’t hesitate to give the
month of July, 1845, when the polca was danced for the first time in the Teatro São Pedro. The
arrival of this dance, cóming from central Europe by way of Paris, was surrounded by great
expectations, thanks to the impact caused in Lisbon ten months before.”
6

Rio de Janeiro, the city in which choro was bom, had been the principal city of the Portuguese colonies in the
Americas since 1763. It was the port of arrival for the colonists, many Africans brought by the slave trade, and
irnmigrants from other European countries.
From 1802-1822, it was the center ofthe Portuguese Empire when João IV fled Napoleon’s advances; upon the
king’s retum to Portugal his son assumed power and declared Rio the capital ofthe newly declared “Empire ofBrazil”.
The Republic of Brasil was established in 1889. With the arrival ofthe Portuguese royal family Rio was transfonned
into an imperial capital, which had a profound affect on its cultural life. Salons and concert spaces were built, and the
latest trends ofEuropean life quickly arrived to the city. The arrival ofthe poilca, as quoted in Cazes above, was an
important event in the development of Brazilian popular dance and music. The combination of a quick tempo,
melodies which contained large intervallic leaps, and a suggestive dance resulted in its rapid and strong presence as
the rnusic ofthe day. Brazilian musicians began to incorporate the repertoire and spirit ofpolka, along with other salon
dances, into their performance practice.

1870-1902
By 1870 Rio de Janeiro was becoming amodem and rapidly expanding urban center. There was a need to filljobs
in service and transportation industries, creating an influx of imrnigrants and freed slaves. Neighborhoods were built
or sprung up to house new rniddle and lower classes; much ofthe development of popular Brazilian music occurred
in these areas. At ffie sarne time, two other musical traditions were active and vital: the presence ofEuropean Classical 1
music was evident through music schools and concerts, and military and civil brass bands were comrnon. Flutist
Joaquim Antônio Calado began to adapt the salon repertoire to and compose for the ensembie offlute, cavaquinho, and
guitar and require the baixaria counterline. Clarinetist/saxophonist Anacleto de Medéiros led civilian brass ensembles
that incorporated the standard repertoire and performed new compositions; in both these ensembies, the roles of
melody, rhythmic accompaniment, and counterpoint were maintained. Most pertinent to the subject ofthis paper,the
tradition of ffie roda de choro (choro circie) began. Similar to a jam session, the roda is an informal gathering of
chorões where new material is presented and the standard repertoire is played for the enjoyment of the participants
and guests. It was and is still common for a roda to take place in someone’s backyard; today they occur in restaurants
or small clubs as well. Tamara Livingston writes in her dissertation:
“Choro musicians tend to considér that ‘real’ choro only happens in the roda, which to them
indicates a circle offriends where you are free to do whatever the music calis for. It is within the roda
that the musical tradition of choro has been passed on from the 1 870’s to the present day, and it
serves an important social function as well as musical fimction: to pass 011 not only the repertoire,
technique, and style of choro, but the ethos ofcamaraderie, humility, and deference which are prized
qualities among chorões.”
7

186
T
 The roda, then, serves as a cauldron through which the oral traditio
n is practiced and passed on, and in which the
balancing of individual and coilective aspects ofthe genre are
forged.
1902- 1922
The year 1902 brought the advent ofthe recording industry in
Brazil. This marked the beginning of a the mass
mediation ofthe genre, bringing its usual positive and negative
consequences. The best choro ensembies were recorded
both as “house bands” and performers of their original works.
As the industry grew, and with the subsequent
introduction ofphonographs and the radio industry, choro entered
a period ofprofessionalization and codification. The
improvisational aspects of the roda were superceded by the
development of written arrangements and virtuoso
performers; the genre became more presentational than partici
patory. In 1922, Pixinguinha traveled with his group
“Os Oito Batutas” to Paris, and choro became known in this cultura
l capital ofEurope. The group hadthe opportunity
to see and hear the “jazzbands” of black musicians ofthe United
States. Upon their return to Brazil, the Batutas were
faced with the accusation that they had been overly-influenced
by Americanjazz performance and arranging practice.
This was a manifestation of the polemic over the increasing
presence of the power and culture of the United States in
Brazil; it is a discussion too complex to consider with any depth
in this paper. Suffice it to say that from the decade
of the 1920’ s on, through recordings, radio, increasing ease
of travei, and the eventual advent of flim and television,
musicians in Brazil had ample opportunity to hear and perform
in the developing language called jazz from the United
States.

1922-1950
As both jazz and the mass-media industries evolved, and with
the eventual political aliiance of the United States
and Brazil, an exchange of information began; jazz, big-ba
nds, and the American bit parade repertoire arrived
Brazil while samba and choro arrived to the United States. in
Iii Brazil, the polemie over the positive and negative effects
of American influence continued. Arrangers Radamés Gnatta
li and Severino Araujo begin to orchestrate Brazilian
songs in an identifiably “American” style; lhe less harmo
nically complex sound of choro ensembies was somew
overwhehned and the genre began to drop in popularity. hat
A somewhat humorous story of saxophonist Paulo Moura
iliustrates the point:
“A Tupy era melhor pra quem gostava de música. O grau de
experimentação nos arranjos era de tal
ordem que um dia a direção da rádio fez uma circular
aos arranjadores avisando: ‘São proibidos
acordes americanos’, preocupados que os ouvintes estranh
assem”.
“(Radio) Tupy was better for they who lilced music.
The degree of experimentation in the
arrangements was ofsuch a levei that one day the administratio
n ofthe station circulated a message
to the arrangers advising ‘American chords are prohibited’,
worryi ng that the listeners would flnd
them strange.” 8

1950-1970
Though important chorües such as Jacob de Bandolim
and Waldir Azevedo were active in the 1950’s, the
popularity of chore was on the wane. This was the decade
ofmodemism, ofhigh hopes for Brazil’s economic miracl
ofAmericanjazz instrumentalists and crooners, the rise of e,
bossa-nova. and the begirinings of a Brazilian response to
the hard bop ofMorace Silver and Art Blakey. After the militar
y coup of 1964 effectively ended the bossa-nova era,
international pop and rock had a strong presence amongst
young Brazilian composers and performers. M6sica Popula
Brasileira (Brazilian Popular Music) prevailed, combining r
elements of international and Brazilian contemporary
musical trends. Though rodus may have existed, they were
not very popular. There were occasional Chore Festivais
or concerts commemorating an important historical momen
t in lhe history of chore, but it’s popuiarity as a popular
genre was ata low point. Iii spite ofthis, lhe seeds were planted
in lhe 1 970’s for a very vital revival which is presently
in fuil swing.

1 970-present
Often with funding from lhe Ministry of Cuiture, Choro
Clubs were begun through Brazil, The Club in Brasília
has proved to be particularly important in lhe current era.
Members of a young generation of musician dedicated
themselves to serious study of the chore tradition, Group
s including Fina Flor de Samba and Camerata Carioc
revisited important works of the genre, and began to bring a
a new energy and vision to it. At present, a number
of

187
 1
dynarnic ensembies including Rabo de Lagartixa, No Um Pingua de Agua, Dois do Ouro, Agua de Moringa, and Trio
Madeira Brasil are participating in a dynamic and forward-Iooking choro movement.

CHORO A14D IMPROVISATION

“É importante lembrar que o choro traz consigo o mesmo elemento que permitiu ao jazz atingir seu J
grande desenvolvimento: improvisação. Esta é sua grande força. A alegria contagiante de brincar
com a música...”

It is important to remember thatthe choro contains tbe sarne element which permittedjazz to achieve
J
its greatest development: improvisation. This is its great strength...the contagious joy ofplaying with
the music...
(Lindolpho Gomes Gaya, 1977 as response to a Jose Ramos Tinhorao, a representative of the
traditionalist school of thought during 1 Festival Nacional do Choro-Brasileirinho)
9

It is quite common, when reading the work of Brazilian music historians, musicologists, journalists, and critics,
to encounter mention and discussion of improvisation. From the perspective ofjazz educators and practitioners, this
is a “loaded” word, and fmding it applied to a genre that lies outside the jazz tradition begs the question: in what sense
is it being used?
1 have found tbrough research and listening to available recordings that improvisation exists on a nuber of leveis
and is applied to different aspects ofperformance:
a. embellishinent
b. fiuidity of time and rhythm feel amongst ensembie
c. baixaria (10w counter-lines)
d. arrangement
e. dynamics
f. creation ofnew melodic lines

“Um a Zero” : the transformation of a standard

Iii order to iliustrate a number of improvisational devices available to the choro practitioner 1 will consider the
piece “Um a Zero”, which is a standard ofthe repertoire. Beginning with the seminal recording of Pixinguinha (tenor
saxophone) and his partner Benedito Lacerda (fiute), 1 will extract passages from five recordings to illustrate a number
ofcornrnon improvisational devices of choro performance. 1 will point out motives and passages that remam the sarne,
and where they differ as the performers vary, embellish, or depart from the melody and the comrnonly known elements
of the contrapuntal and rhythmic figures. this is by necessity a very small sample drawn from the many possibilities
available; 1 believe they are at least representational.

To begin, Examples 1 and 2 in the appendix contain portions ofthe melodic une as played by Lacerda and the contra
° as improvised by Pixinguinha.
t
canto

Example 3, from the recording of Raphael Rabelio and Horondino da Silva (Dino Sete Cordas), begins with a
percussion solo which foreshadows the well-known contra-canto ofB. The cavaquinho then responds with a repetition
of the figure before embarking on an improvisation over the first sixteen measures of the harmonic progression of
section A, In terms of arrangement this was probably a premeditated decision; however the melodic content appears
improvised. A short blues phrase (an interesting surprise!) is evident in bars 21-22.

Example 4 is Dino’s contra-canto at the first Letter B of the sarne recording. He begins with a clear reference to
Pixinguinha’s part at the same structural point; Pixinguinha’s line has become part ofchoro’s common vocabulary and
is frequently used as a starting point. In ensuing bars, Dino creates his own line.

In Exaniple 5, from the recording “Pixinguinha de Bolso”, Henrique Cazes adds triplet subdivisions, small variations
and embelljshments to section C. Bars 4-7 and bar 12 are clearly spontaneous “flights offancy”.

188
 In Example 6, from the coilection ‘Café Brasil”, virtuoso flutist Altamiro Carrilho departs from the rnelody in bars
5-7,
and returns at bar 8. From bar 17-24, he improvises a new melody over the harmonic progression.

Example 7 iliustrates the subsequent A section, in which Ronaldo de Bandolim creates shiffing accent patterns
through
use of hemiola. It is difficult to transcribe to paper, but the ensembie clearly follows him through the newly
divided
time stream. It is a perfect example of a fluid and spontaneous group improvisation.

CONCLUSION
How, then can we compare the emergence and development of choro iii Brazil and jazz in the United
States?
Clearly there are differences between the two popular instrumental traditions. The use ofblues structure and
expression,
the procedure ofsoloing “overthe changes” and use ofthe “silenttheme tradition”, the use ofriff, standard
song form,
and the appropriation ofgospel and soul, and the triplet-based subdivision are all absent iii the Brazilian tradition.
The
confluence ofinfluences present in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Bra.zil resulted in another unique set
ofelements
which formed its contemporary sound: Portuguese contributions of art and folk song genre including
modinha and
seresta; the use of a variety of instruments of the guitar family, (six-string, seven-string, cavaquinho,
guitarra
portuguesa); the popularity in the nineteenth century of the poilca and Italian opera; Afro-Braziia
n rhythmical
sensibilities, rhythmic phrases, instrurnents, performance practice, and dances including lundu; and
the difficult to
trace influences of expression and phrasing that may have come from the unique nineteenth- and twentieth-
century
immigrant communities ofBrazil (Italian, Arabic, Jewish, Spanish, German).
Nonetheless, there are enough conimon elements between the two traditions that provide ground for
comparison.
Both result principally from a confluence of colonial and African-based cultures; both are a consequence
of
decolonization and definition as anation, abolition, industrialization, urbanization, and mass-mediatechnologies.
Both
exhibit a standard repertoire, a vocabulary of phrases and phrasing passed on principally by oral tradition
,and both
include, to varying degrees, aspects of self-expression within a coilective performance and components
and the spirit
of iniprovisation iii their performance practice.
Here, 1 thinlc, we reach the crux ofan important issue: how do we define “improvisation” as it applies
to popular
music traditions beyond the United States? If we consider these genre solely through the prism of
“jazz”, then we
necessarily limit lhe comparison and create a dynamic based on inequality of position. Choro practitioners
certainly
do use their musical language, in a complex matrix ofmelody, harmony, rhythm, counterpoint, and
form against a
background of a constant time stream to create works unique to lhe moment of performance. They
are improvising!
Perhaps it better serves lhe purposes ofanalysis and comparison to declare that it is not jazz, and does
not have to be.
It is au American popular instrumental improvised music, unique to lhe tradition from which it springs.
In this way,
we can compare and enjoy each tradition on its merits.
Though choro dec]ined in popularity in niid-century, it is today experiencing a resurgence as new generations
of
musicians rediscover lhe genre. Clarinetist and composer Paulo Moura is one of lhe prominent exponents
of choro,
and is one of lhe living artists who provide a link to past masters Pixinguinha and K-Ximbinho.
Pianist/composers
Cesar Camargo Mariano, Laerçio Freitas, and Hermeto Pascoal have always included choros in their
repertoire. In Rio
de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, small bars and restaurants are once again providing space for the new practitioners
to come
together to “exercise” and perform in rodas and in concert. The “Clube de Choro” of Brasilia has inspired
a remarkable
number ofyoung musicians to take up lhe geme, and recently opened a school dedicated to providing
a strong musical
foundation and lhe skills necessary to perform in lhe choro style. The present day “chorão” reflects
lhe developments
in composition, iniprovisation, arrrangement, melody, and harmony which popular instrumental
music and jazz has
seen in lhe past forty years, remains aware of lhe tradition which has come before, and is producing
a contemporary,
revitalized mode of expression.

189
 ENDNOTES

These include syncopation, polym

2.
eter, “chailenges’ in performance, and components of improvisation.
There are a few extant theories to expiam the derivat
ion ofthe term “choro’:
a) The verb chorar is transiated from the Portuguese
as “to cry, or to weep”. Researchers and musicologists
including David Appleby, Mozart Araújo, and Baptista Siquei
ra attribute the naming ofthe genre to a
perceived melancholy character of composition and style
ofplaying.
b) Gerard Béhague and Renato Almeida see a linguistic
connection between the terms choro and xolo,
Brazilian dances performed to celebrate certain festiva Afro
is and saint days.
e) Bra.zilian historjan Ary Vasconcelos writes that
the term derives from a reduction of the word
choromeleiro. During the colonial period, this designated
an instrumental ensembie that included the
charamel, a small flute without keys. He postulated that
the term began to be applied to any ensembie,
was shortened to choro. The groups used a similar instrum and
entation to that of a choro group: flute, guitar,
cavaquinho.
This formation of wooden flute and stringed instrum
ents was called, appropriately enough, pau e cord
and string). a (wood
Made famous internationally in a vocal version by Carme
n Miranda (and subsequently covered by Bugs
A practitioner of choro. Bunny).
6
Cazes, Choro: Do QuintalAo Municipal, 19. Ali
translations from the Portuguese are my own uniess
noted. otherwise
Tamara Livingston, Choro and Music Revivalism
in Rio de Janeiro, 1973-1995. 126-27
Cazes, Choro. 120
Cazes, Choro. 157
10
Literally counter song. It is believed that Pixinguinha
modeled these improvised counterpoints after the
Iearned from a teacher who played the ophicleide lines he
iii the eariy days of choro.

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