When the Afro-Brazilian percussion group Olodum performs today, Centennial Olympic Park will seem more like Carnival in the northeast parts of Brazil.
With its virtuoso musicians on yellow-, red- and green-striped drums, Olodum performs samba reggae, the head-nodding, hand-raising, body-rocking variation of the Brazilian rhythm from Salvador da Bahia. If you’ve seen the video for Michael Jackson’s 1997 hit “They Don’t Care About Us,” you’ve seen Olodum.
The genre incorporates samba with African and Caribbean sounds and relies heavily on the snap of the snares and a deafening brunga dunga dun from the bass drums.
João Jorge, the director of the group, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the group is excited to be performing in Atlanta. “We want to bring the music and spirit of Afro-Brazil and the spirit of Salvador, but we also hope to feel the spirit of Martin Luther King and the spirit of the civil rights movement. We feel a strong connection to Atlanta.”
Olodum was founded in 1979 during the Afro-Brazilian social movement to help instill pride in Brazil’s large African-descended population. The free concert is sponsored by the National Black Arts Festival and the Brazilian Consulate General in Atlanta and intends to introduce patrons to Afro-Brazilian culture.
Although a small group of drummers and musicians performs internationally, Olodum boasts thousands of members, from the children in its after-school music and theater education program, to the legions who follow them along Salvador’s parade route at Carnival every year.
That’s the atmosphere concertgoers should expect. Be prepared to do some balancé, Brazilian Portuguese for rocking from side to side. Samba reggae often includes line dancing, so comfortable shoes are a must.
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Concert preview
Olodum
5-9 p.m. today. Free. Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta. 404-730-7315, www.nbaf.org .
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