Dom Um Romao: August 3, 1925 - July 27, 2005

Dom Um Romeo was one of the first Brazilian percussionists that I came to meet. While he was working with the late Hammond B3 organist Walter Wanderlei at the Hotel Drake in New York around 1967, I brought him the first cuica that I made for him to evaluate. I had just finished mounting the head on the drum that evening and put the drum in the oven for a quick dry. Dom Um was impressed with my new creation which was made of spun aluminum and used wing screws for tightening. The form for spinning this drum was lost in the bankruptsy of the spinning company and I never got to revisit this construction.

I was told by Steve Kroon, that at one point he had enjoyed an active career shuttling between Switzerland, New York and Brazil. At another point in his career he maintained the Rice and Beans rehearsal/performance facility in New York.

In the 1960s Dom Um Romao joined Sergio Mendes' jazz ensemble. His first album, Dom Um, came out in 1964. The next year he moved to the United States and continued to work with Sergio Mendes. He became more international known in 1971, when he replaced Airto Moreira in the legendary fusion band Weather Report. In the 1980s he moved to Switzerland. In the 90s, he spent more time in Brazil with recordings and workshops. In 1997 he recorded Rhythm Traveler.

He was one of the pioneers, along with Airto, in introducing small percussion to a broader range of music. Throughout his career, Dom Um Romão worked with such artists as Cannonball Adderley, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Helen Merrill, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley, Stanley Turrentine, Flora Purim, Luiz Henrique and Ithamara Koorax.

Romao is survived by a son, Cleber, who lives in the United States.

The photo shown here was taken when Dom Um Romao was working with Sergio Mendes in NJ at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdale in 1967.