Brazil Carnival, feel the carnival

Orquestra Voadora : Rio Vibrant, Eclectic, and striking Funky band in Rio

Orquestra Voadora - Rio Street Carnival / Funky Band

To talk about ORQUESTRA VOADORA is not an easy task for me.  I confess I met them for the first time as an accident, as I was jogging through the Flamengo Park, close to where I live, but also where they practice on Sundays!  ORQUESTRA VOADORA started out as a Rio street marching band and today is one of the most sought after groovy bands in Rio.  And why not say influential too?  In shows, I am able to see not only fans but other musicians ( like myself ) trying to understand them.  They band, which has the trombones and saxophones as its grounding power, is able to be striking, irreverent, vibrant, but exquisitely “light” at the same time.   I guess this mixture is the reason for its instantaneous success in Rio Carnivals and gig sessions.  

Great photo of one of their shows:

Photo Credit: Orquestra Voadora Flickr

One example of this viral success happened in 2010, when ORQUESTRA VOADORA was able to gather more than 15,000 people at the Flamengo Park during Fat Tuesday.   Please keep in mind it was 2:00 PM, the sun shining high and local temperature reached 35° Celsius - 95 degrees Fahrenheit !! (That show only ended because everyone was more than exhausted, and already driving to the beach. )  So next time in Rio, try to find the next “flights” of ORQUESTRA VOADORA, always posted at their funky site.   Below you will see a small summary of their career and their contact information.

Born of from the union of musicians who met playing in several Rio carnival street marching bands in 2008 and prior years, the ORQUESTRA VOADORA “Carnival Bloco” appears determined to continue making eclectic performances all year long, without stopping when carnival season is over.   ORQUESTRA VOADORA became especially notorious for their impressive capacity to cover an ample variety of musical styles.    They say “the building blocks of their work is not limited to playing traditional “marchinhas de carnaval”, but a broader spectrum”.

Below, crew members of Orquestra at their training spot!

Photo Credit:  Chris Lustosa

Their “flights”, as their orchestra performances are nicknamed ( by their own musicians), fly across the most unusual musical sceneries possible.   Weaving the personal taste of each its members, the differences amongst the musicians is so heterogeneous that democracy is used as the basis of their musical selection process.  Who could imagine to listen "Beat it" from Michael Jackson in samba rhythm?  And what about Age of Aquarius by Orchestra ( See in You-Tube) in funky style?!! Yes, they can!

Moving from traditional sambas from Brazil, rock & roll, movie & cartoon soundtracks, classical and avant-garde grooves, the "infinite repertoire “ seems to be the fate of ORQUESTRA VOADORA.    This amazing band is formed by Daniel Paiva, Sergio Genovencio, Tiago Rodrigues, Vicente Quintela (Trumpets), Carlos Molina, Julian B. Pires, Márcio Leonardo Campos , Sobrosa (Trombone), Andrew Ramos (baritone sax), Tim Malik (Tuba); Fioroti Andrew, Hugo Prazeres, da Silva Mattos, Marcelo Azevedo and Pedro Araujo (percussion).

Below, we see one of their performances at Circo Voador!   Impressive!

Attention foreign crew, fasten your seat belts because they can be seen just about anywhere essential music is re-invented!

Their Twitter Account is found at @voosdaorquestra and their contact information: contato@orquestravoadora.com.br