FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brazilian ensemble Olodum to perform at Bates

LEWISTON, Maine -- Olodum, a lively, rhythmic Brazilian music and dance ensemble, will perform on the Bates College Library Quadrangle (Saturday) Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend free of charge. For more information about the concert, call the Bates College Multicultural Center at 207-786-8215.

Olodum, a cultural movement of musicians, singers and dancers based in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia, "embodies the history, culture, soul and reality of the African presence in Brazil," said Czerny Brasuell, director of multicultural affairs at Bates. More than five million Africans were taken from Africa and transported for enslavement in Brazil, which received the overwhelming majority of all Africans brought to the Americas during the four centuries of slave trade, Brasuell said.

Olodum places this legacy at the center of their performances in both dance and music, using the drum as the focal instrument. By employing Yoruban lyrics and candomble chants, the ensemble's repertoire demonstrates how Brazil's African population retained its language and religion in the context of slavery as well as celebrates Afro-Brazilian resistance and revolt.

Olodum's musical style also pays homage to Bob Marley and his brand of "socio-political" reggae, combining Afro-Brazilian rhythms (samba) into a form known as "samba reggae." Olodum pioneered the large-scale percussion band, often performing with more than 50 drummers, accompanied by vocalists and dancers. The group has performed worldwide, and guest artists from the Caribbean and Africa often appear on Olodum's 11 CDs.

Olodum consists of players of varying levels and skills, with the older, more experienced musicians teaching the younger ones the dances and rhythms of their heritage.

The concert is sponsored by the Bates Multicultural Center with funding by the Bates College Concert Series, which continues its 1999-2000 season with baritone George Fortune and pianist Frank Glazer, Bates artist-in residence, (Sunday) Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students.