Ethnic Folk-Dance Music

A Swiss colonial history in Brazil

Helvécia

To article

Who are we?

Dennis Brown

From the 1960s until his passing at 89 on 13 September 2025, Hermeto Pascoal breathed life into Brazilian jazz — a multi-instrumentalist, a composer, a sorcerer of sound, a free spirit

Intro

«&nbsp;If there is a religion, mine is music, » Hermeto Pascoal once declared — one of countless affirmations that set him free as a musical poet. His unruly white hair became an unforgettable part of his image. An indefatigable composer, credited with more than 19,000 pieces, he opened Brazilian and Afro-American jazz to the sound of every conceivable and improbable instrument — from his own body to conventional instruments and even the everyday objects and tools of Brazil’s Nordeste countryside (1). On 7 August 2025,&nbsp;Hermeto Pascoal performed&nbsp;Calendário&nbsp;do&nbsp;Som&nbsp;at the Jazz In Marciac festival — his final concert in France — with his 6tet featuring Jota P.&nbsp;(sax), André Marques (pno), Itiberê Luiz Zwarg (bass, a member of his group since 1977), Ajurina Zwarg (drms), and his son Fabio Pascoal (perc), for whom he composed the famous tune Bebê. The 366 compositions of this 1996-1997 project were conceived as a sacred folk work — a birthday gift for each human being. --- (1)&nbsp; For more information, see the essential book Le Jazz Brésilien by Isabelle Leymarie&nbsp;(Jasmin Musique, 2021, in French).

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0934.jpg

Hermeto Pascoal

Slider

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0977.jpg

Pascoal 0977

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0862.jpg

Pascoal 0862

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0820.jpg

Pascoal 0820

(L) Jota P. (sax), (C) Ajurina Zwarg (drms), (R) Hermeto Pascoal (voc, key, horn, teapot) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-1981.jpg

Pascoal 1981

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0941.jpg

Pascoal 0941

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0612.jpg

Pascoal 0612

(L) Itiberê Luiz Zwarg (bass), Jota P. (sax), Ajurina Zwarg (drms), (C) Fabio Pascoal (perc), (R) Hermeto Pascoal (voc, key, horn, teapot) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-1962.jpg

Pascoal 1962

André Marques (pno) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-1992.jpg

Pascoal 1992

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0705.jpg

Pascoal 0705

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0603.jpg

Pascoal 0603

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0547.jpg

Pascoal 0547

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0667.jpg

Pascoal 0667

Fabio Pascoal (perc) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0964.jpg

Pascoal 0964

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0962.jpg

Pascoal 0962

Fabio Pascoal, percussion solo with pig and cow squeaky toys | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0767.jpg

Pascoal 0767

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0744.jpg

Pascoal 0744

Ajurina Zwarg (drms) Fabio Pascoal (perc), percussion duo with mortars and clog | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0892.jpg

Pascoal 0892

Itiberê Luiz Zwarg (bass, a member of his group since 1977) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0804.jpg

Pascoal 0804

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0653.jpg

Pascoal 0653

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0815.jpg

Pascoal 0815

Ajurina Zwarg (drms) | Jazz in Marciac, France - August 2025

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0620.jpg

Pascoal 0620

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0632.jpg

Pascoal 0632

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0622.jpg

Pascoal 0622

Mosaic

My selection of music records

Title vinyl

CerebroMagnetico.jpg

Cérebro Magnético - Atlantic (BR) 1980

Eita Mundo Bom!

Pascoal_Planetario.jpg

Planetário Da Gávea - Far Out (UK) 2022

Jegue

TheMonashSessions.jpg

The Monash Sessions - Jazzhead (AUS) 2013

Bebe

CalendarioJaneiro.jpg

Calendário do Som, Janeiro - (BR) 2025

7 de Janeiro

O Bruxo (the Sound Sorcerer)

medium_20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0977_nbl.jpg

small_20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0977_nbl.jpg

thumbnail_20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0977_nbl.jpg

20250807_HermetoPascoal_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-0977_nbl.jpg

After a transformative U.S. tour, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti turned music into a political weapon, giving birth to Afrobeat

After a ten-month tour of the United States in 1969, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti fused the revolutionary ideas of the Black Panthers with the funk of James Brown and Sly Stone, and the electric freedom of Miles Davis.&nbsp; Back in Nigeria, surrounded by musicians such as drummer Tony Allen and trumpeter Tunde Williams, he turned his new Afrobeat music into a weapon against corruption, neocolonialism, and military rule. Raids, prison, and the destruction of his Kalakuta Republic, including the killing of his mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a pioneering feminist and anti-colonial activist, failed to silence him. Fela left behind more than 50 albums and a sound built for resistance as much as for dance. In 1978, asserting his African identity and rejecting Western norms, he married 26 of his dancers, the Kalakuta Queens, who became central to both his stage presence and political vision. Seen live in Lausanne in July 1984 with the Queens&nbsp;and Femi, Fela’s legacy lives on through both of his sons, Femi and Seun Kuti&nbsp;(1).&nbsp; --- (1)&nbsp;In 2026, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti&nbsp;will become the only posthumous recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-015.jpg

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti

Fela 015

Slider Fela

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-009.jpg

Fela 009

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-010.jpg

Fela 010

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-017.jpg

Fela 017

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-008.jpg

Fela 008

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-006.jpg

Fela 006

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-012.jpg

Fela 012

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-018.jpg

Fela 018

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-011.jpg

Fela 011

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-016.jpg

Fela 016

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-004.jpg

Fela 004

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-005.jpg

Fela 005

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-002.jpg

Fela 002

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-003.jpg

Fela 003

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti with his wives ans dancers, the Kalakuta Queens, and his son Femi Kuti | Lausanne, Switzerland - July 1984

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-001.jpg

Fela 001

During his U.S. tour, Fela met Sandra Izsadore, an African American civil rights activist in Los Angeles. She introduced him to the writings of Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, and other revolutionary thinkers.&nbsp; Reflecting on that period, Fela told The New York Times:&nbsp; «It was incredible how my head was turned. Everything fell into place, man. For the first time, I saw the essence of black nationalism (blackism). I realized that to be a great man you have to have a great country behind you. I had no country, just a bunch of Africans running around in suits trying to be Englishmen. I decided to come back and try to make my country African.» Sandra recalled their encounter:&nbsp; «He is the man I met in America in 1969… a man who literally walked with the Los Angeles Times in his shoes because he could not afford a new pair. I had no idea then that we would make historical changes in the mindset of the Nigerian people. Fela and I wanted positive change for the world. I thought that change could come through music. «That chance meeting was the start of Afrobeat and a love connection that shaped the world. When I met Fela, I was searching for truth! About myself and our race. I shared with Fela our story, the little that I knew of African history and culture. I shared and displayed that message of truth (2).» --- (2)&nbsp;Quotes reproduced with permission from Sandra Izsadore. Learn more at her official website: <a href="https://www.sandraizsadore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">link1</a> <a href="https://felakuti.com/us/news/sandra-izadore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">link2</a>

Fela_upsidedown_4.jpg

Sandra

Slider Sandra

fela_shakara.jpg

Shakara - EMI (NIG) 1972

Lady

fela_yellowfever.jpg

Yellow Fever - Afrodisia (NIG) 1976

Yellow Fever

Up Side Down - Afrodisia (NIG) 1976

Up Side Down

TonyAllen_Progress.jpg

Progress - Coconut (NIG) 1977

Afrodisco beat

The volcanic voice of Afrobeat

medium_19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-009_carre.jpg

small_19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-009_carre.jpg

thumbnail_19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-009_carre.jpg

19840707_FelaAnikulapoKuti_(c)Pascal_Schmidt-009_carre.jpg

For lovers of up-tempo rock’n’pop, Rockpile was the dream ticket

Rockpile was a British rock’n’roll and power pop band, with elements of country and rockabilly. They were active from December 1976 to early February 1981. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds (guitar &amp; vocals), Nick Lowe&nbsp;(bass &amp; vocals), Billy Bremner (guitar &amp; vocals), and Terry Williams (drums). Apart from great studio recordings (1), the band was an excellent hard-driving live band. They toured intensively and were almost always on the road which included five US tours. The concerts were short and very intense, the slow numbers were left at home, and lasted no more than around an hour.&nbsp; But, after almost 4 years of constant touring and recording, which also included production work for other artists, the band was coming to an end. In February 1981, to much surprise for the fans and people in the music business, Rockpile abruptly disbanded. The official explanation was mainly contractual disagreements, but probably Nick Lowe was correct when he later said the now-famous words: We got together for fun and when the fun all had been had we packed it in.&nbsp; I just wish that they had stayed together for a few more years! They really were that good.&nbsp; Rikard Bengtsson We watched Rockpile at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1980 as the opening act for Elvis Costello. --- (1)&nbsp;The fact that Dave Edmund and Nick Lowe were signed to different record labels (Dave to Swan Song/Atlantic and Nick to Radar/Columbia) meant that they - for the first three years - could not record under the Rockpile name. But Dave Edmund’s solo albums Tracks on Wax 4, Repeat When Necessary, and Twangin’ and Nick Lowe’s Labour of Lust are all with the full Rockpile line-up, apart from a few other guesting musicians such as Huey Lewis and Albert Lee.&nbsp; It would not be until 1980 – when Dave&nbsp;and Nick's contracts came to an end – that they could cut the first true Rockpile album, the much-awaited Seconds of Pleasure, which was released in the autumn of 1980. Rockpile also backed other artists like Carlene Carter on her 1980 album Musical Shapes (on all songs except two) and on Mickey Jupp’s Juppanese from 1978 (a-side).&nbsp;

BillyBremner_DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_002A.jpg

Rockpile

BB-DE 2

Rockpile - Billy Bremner, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Terry Williams | Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland - July 1980

BillyBremner_NickLowe_1980_MJF_010.jpg

BB 10

BillyBremner_1980_MJF_021A.jpg

BB 21

NickLowe_1980_MJF_024.jpg

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_001A.jpg

DE 1

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_028A.jpg

DE 28

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_020A.jpg

DE 20

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_030.jpg

DE 30

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_026A.jpg

DE 26

BillyBremner_1980_MJF_018.jpg

BB 18

BillyBremner_1980_MJF_019A.jpg

BB 19

BillyBremner_1980_MJF_013.jpg

BB 13

BillyBremner_1980_MJF_014.jpg

BB 14

DaveEdmunds_1980_MJF_029.jpg

DE 29

This project is something quite unique. Crawling From the Wreckage is the first book ever written about Rockpile, the British rock ’n’ roll band that was formed in London in 1976 by Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe. It contains more than 200 photos, including exclusive shots from the infamous concert at the Bottom Line in New York, 1978, when Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones&nbsp;joined the band on stage, and previously unseen photage from the Roundhouse in London the very same year.&nbsp; Devoted fans, as well as people in the music business such as Gregg Geller, former A&amp;R at Columbia Records, shares their memories and stories. Interviews have been conducted with guitarist Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams, but also with Rockpile’s tour manager Andy Cheeseman&nbsp;and the band’s recording engineers Aldo Bocca, Roger Bechirian and Neill King. Barry Farmer at Pathway Studios also talks about the group and their very first recording – They Called it Rock. The foreword is written by the British musician, author and music journalist Will Birch and the afterword by the Swedish journalist and author Mats Olsson – both true Rockpile devotees by heart. When Nick Lowe in recent years was asked why there never was a Rockpile reunion, he replied that it was better for people to remember Rockpile for what they were. And that’s the very essence of the book; memories of a band that is considered by many to be one of the best live acts that have ever entered a stage.&nbsp; As Will Birch puts it in the foreword: For lovers of up-tempo rock’n’pop, Rockpile were the dream ticket. Rikard Bengtsson – co-editor&nbsp; &gt;&gt;&gt; For book orders, please e-mail Rikard at: rikard@hammarsjon.se

rockpile_book.jpg

Crawling from the Wreckage - A Tribute to Rockpile [Sweden 2021]

Slider book

Rockpile, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe | Concert US

Ken_Hanson_concertUS.jpg

Hanson US

Rockpile, Dave Edmunds, Terry Williams | Werchter Festival, Belgium 1978

No items in your cart !

All articles

Sicily

Millenial history of religion

Istanbul & Edirne

Utopia between yesterday and tomorrow

Deir el-Medina

The monochrome tombs

Arles Photo

International Photo Festival 2022

Sardinia

Small series of photos on Sardegna - Sardinia

Japan & Ruhr

Short series of portraits

All products

Pascal Schmidt

Ethnic Folk-Dance

Photographer