Neighbor Dendê Macedo is a Brazilian-born drummer and bandleader whose childhood in the Federação neighborhood influences his band Hãhãhães (named for a Brazilian indigenous tribe). A profile in the Boston Globe talks about his vibrant music, which matches his vibrant personality:
His first musical memories are from religious ceremonies, where he sang. His family and neighbors, detecting his ability, would wait for him to start the drumming, often with just kitchen pots.
His neighborhood fame grew until one day, at 15, he summoned up the courage to accost the iconic Bahian drummer Carlinhos Brown, who led the massive and influential ensemble Timbalada.
It was in that group, as he progressed from the fifth line to the front with the top players, that Macedo, whose real first name is Jailton, got the nickname Dendê. It refers to the pungent reddish-brown palm oil that flavors the stews in Bahia.
“We were recording an album and I made a mistake,’’ Macedo says. Brown began to scold him — playfully, but Macedo wasn’t sure — and he went red with embarrassment. “And Brown said ‘Look at your face, it looks like dendê!’ ’’
Besides playing live (check his calendar for upcoming shows in NYC), Macedo also teaches a timbal workshop in the neighborhood, which is coming up in the summer.
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