Vento Negro by Armond Vance

The piece starts at 1:23. Performing my original composition at my solo concert in July 2023 at Arts Fort Worth. When I ventured to Brazil in 2018, I met a Brazilian jazz musician who said something that really resonated with me. He said “Culture is like the wind. It seeps through closed doors and cracks.” He was specifically referring to the culture of Afro-Brazilians and despite centuries of oppression, they still preserved their musical traditions, religious practices, (such as Candomble) and elements of their food and language. This Piece, Vento Negro, translates from Portugese to Black Wind. And it describes this very concept. During times of slavery in the United States and Brazil, many enslaved individuals were prohibited from engaging in traditional West-African musical customs, such as drumming and singing. They actually frequently banned drums from being played. So the enslaved people used their bodies as percussion and made music in secrecy. These secret musical experiences would continue for generations, leading to the birth of the American music industry. Many of the genres of music that we enjoy today such as R&B, Rock, Jazz, Hip-hop, and pop have their roots in Black Culture. Vento Negro is inspired by a style of music practiced historically by enslaved and free Afro Brazilians on coffee plantations called Jongo. In this style, a soloist sings a few short phrases and that phrase is echoed by the group. You can hear elements of this call and response in this piece. Listen Carefully. The middle section of this piece dreams is meant to evoke my ancestors dreaming of a prosperous future.