A Surdo Image Gallery |
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I found the following imagaes while researching for this website. I love to see photos of instruments as much as listening to them. It's interesting to see how people all over the world use them and decorate them. As you will see, I have a particular fondness for women and children playing big drums. There also seems to be a preference for the Brazilian Northeast. Actually, I do love Bahia bloco afro music and maracatu drums, but the lack of photos of Carioca surdos is more due to their lack of availability, not lack of interest. If anyone can provide images of street baterias from Rio (or Bahia or Pernambuco), please send them my way. Few of the images were used with permission. If you have the rights to an image and want it removed, please let me know. I did not use thumbnails on this page. To see a full-sized image, click on the yellow underlined hypertext in the left column. |
| Olodum in Pelourinho |
This is a great photo of a mass of Olodum surdo drummers
in Pelourinho Square, probably on a Tuesday or Sunday evening.
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| Timbalada Onstage | This angle shows the surdo arrangement of Timbalada onstage very well. The fundo parts are played by one drummer on three mounted surdos on the riser in the back. Two or three virada drummers stand in front of the riser with their drums strapped on. |
| Malê Debalê at Carnaval | A classic bloco afro that hasn't "sold out", Malê Debalê plays hardcore and all-percussion. Here, they pause in front of the main stands at Salvador Carnaval. |
| Ilê Aiyê Onstage | This blurry shot I took myself during a concert in San Francisco. While Olodum is very entertaining, Ilê Aiyê is very moving. |
| Ilê Aiyê Fundo | Gato played with Ilê Aiyê in San Francisco, but this shot may be from Brazil. I love his afro hairstyle and his playing style. Thanks to Ann for his name. |
| Funk N Lata | These guys are out of Rio, and play all kinds of funky rhythms. They generally use two Bahia surdos, almost always decorated in that green and magenta wrinkled paper. |
| Apaches do Tororo | Interesting shot of this bloco indio in procession, surdos held high. A surdo nut like me is moved to drooling at the sight. |
| Drum Class | I got this from Fogo Na Roupa's website. It's a 1992 percussion class in Candeal, Bahia with Carlinhos Brown. The Bahia surdos have nice paint jobs. Photo supplied by Carol Frank. |
| Didá Onstage | Didá Band Feminina is an offshoot of Olodum made up entirely of young women. Here, they play onstage with mounted surdos. |
| Didá in the Streets | I love shots of young people playing big drums. Didá is a banda feminina and social program started by Neguinho do Samba. |
| Kids in Bahia | I believe this was a class in Bahia. |
| Improvised Surdo | Big mallets and a small plastic surdo, this kid is pounding away in Pelourinho. Perhaps we'll see him onstage with Olodum someday. |
| Rockin' Youth | This photo was from a large collection of Salvador Carnaval images. I love it. Both of the surdo players have napa heads. The girl's must sound wonderful with all those dents. |
| Ilê Aiyê Youth Class | All of the major blocos have programs for educating youth, both academically and musically. Here, young boys get firsthand experience with how heavy steel surdos can be. |
| Used Mallets | With such concentration, this guy will be a star in the future. I hope he gets some new mallets soon. |
| Maracatu Parade | This is Leão Coroado marching with their alfaias. It's great how the drums and clothing match. |
| Rio Maracatu | I've always loved this photo. The title implied it was the group Rio Maracatu. |
| Maracatu Jam | Maracatu groups often mix alfaias and surdos (both known as bombos). The surdos tend to be of wood with leather heads. |
| Piaba Jam | I don't known the full name of this maracatu group, but I think they are from Olinda and are associated with the name "Piaba". This is from a series of photos that display high energy and a bit of summer humidity. The drummer in the foreground is playing left-handed. |
| Fogo Na Roupa | Fogo loves their napa heads. Here you can see a factory napa by Contemporanea and two homemade heads. Michelle, in the middle, did some strong rolls, which must have been tiring on that thick drumhead. Photo supplied by Carol Frank. |
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