Percussionist Djalma Corrêa dies in Rio

Percussionist Djalma Corrêa, considered one of the greatest in Brazilian popular music, died on Thursday night (8) in Rio de Janeiro. The news was published on the social networks of Acervo Djalma Corrêa, a project by the Núcleo Brasileiro de Percussão with the support of the Rumos Itaú Cultural program. The 80-year-old instrumentalist had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. Mineiro de Ouro Preto, Djalma Côrrea participated in the beginning of the tropicalist movement, in 1964, when he was part of the show Nós por exemple, in Salvador, with names like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Tom Zé and Perna. The Cravo Albin Dictionary of Brazilian Popular Music recalls that the percussionist also made soundtracks for films and set music for theater plays, in addition to making music for therapeutic purposes. Among the films that have his musical contribution is The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), by Martin Scorsese. Corrêa was one of the founders of the Baiafro group, in the 1970s, a period in which he also participated in works by Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, in addition to being part of the Doces Bárbaros show, which marked an era, bringing together Gal, Bethânia, Gil and Gaetano. His partnership with Gilberto Gil also included a trip to Nigeria, to participate in the Black Arts and Culture Festival, in 1977, the same year they recorded the LP Refavela together. In the 1980s, Corrêa released his own LP, Djalma Corrêa, entirely dedicated to percussion, in addition to participating in the album Quarteto Negro, with Paulo Moura, Zezé Mota and Jorge Degas. Information about the wake and burial of the percussionist has not yet been released by his team and should be published on social networks. Exhibition The artist’s work can be seen in an exhibition at the Museu do Pontal, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, scheduled for until January 2023. The exhibition Djalma Corrêa – 80 Years of Music and Research brings together photographs and recordings from the instrumentalist’s collection and highlights his research work on African and Afro-diasporic sounds. Researcher Cecília de Mendonça is responsible for the shared curatorship of the exhibition, together with directors of the Museu do Pontal. The route told in the exhibition begins with Corrêa’s childhood in Ouro Preto, where his first relationships with music take place and includes his training in popular music, as a drummer in Belo Horizonte and his trip to Bahia, to study in music seminars. Thus begins the trajectory that unites erudite, popular and Afro-Bahian traditions. The exhibition can be visited from Thursday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm, and admission is free. The Pontal Museum is located at Avenida Célia Ribeiro da Silva Mendes, 3300, in Barra da Tijuca, west of Rio de Janeiro.

Agência Brasil