Romeu Silva

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Years active

1911–1946

Genres

choro, maxixe, samba, carnival march

Instruments

saxophone

Biography

Romeu Silva, born in Rio de Janeiro on February 11, 1893, and died on May 1, 1958, was an important Brazilian conductor, composer, and saxophonist. A pioneer in spreading Brazilian popular music beyond national borders, he began his artistic career playing in carnival bands and societies in the early 20th century, later coming to lead his own orchestra, the Jazz Band Sul-Americana, which initially featured the talent of the young pianist Ary Barroso.

Starting in the mid-1920s, Romeu Silva embarked on a famous international tour subsidized by the Brazilian government, presenting typically national rhythms such as samba, maxixe, and frevo on stages in Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, England, and Italy. During these trips through Europe, he even recorded albums with the renowned artist Josephine Baker. His international projection continued in the following decades, highlighted by his trip to Los Angeles in 1932 with the Brazilian Olympic Band and his representation of Brazil at the New York World's Fair in 1939, where his orchestra performed alongside figures such as Vadico and Artur Rubinstein.

Back in Brazil, he worked intensely in the country's main casinos, such as Cassino Atlântico and Cassino da Urca, where he joined and directed highly prestigious ensembles, in addition to touring with Carmen Miranda and Bando da Lua. With the closure of the casinos in the 1940s, his orchestra was disbanded and he began working in the civil service, leaving an indelible legacy in the history of our music as one of the first great ambassadors of Brazilian culture abroad.