MARGAO: Ace drummer Abdonio Rodrigues, who inspired, mentored and trained several generations of Goan musicians, passed away at Sanvordem on Tuesday morning. He was 88.
Stalwarts from the tiatr and Konkani music world from Goa and beyond took to social media to mourn his loss, recalling that Abdonio was the last surviving member of ‘Rodrigues Brothers’, a band of legendary jazz musicians from the same family – his brothers Johnny and Arcanjo were genius on the alto and tenor saxophone, Gaspar was a trumpeter and Abdonio worked his magic on the drums. The Rodrigues family had music in their veins – their father, Diogo Rodrigues was a mestri in the Church, and trained his four sons and dozens of other Goan musicians who went on to become stars in their respective fields.
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Abdonio was best known for his long association with Goa’s ‘Melody King’ Alfred Rose, and features in most of his hit songs. “He was a wonderful friendly man, humble and likeable. He was part of our first Konkani recording in the late 1970’s and an integral part of our music for live shows, TV, radio and cassette recordings. He performed with our musical group in Bombay, Goa and we even travelled overseas,” says Rita Rose, the late Alfred’s wife, speaking to O Heraldo from Mumbai. “I spoke to him over the phone several times, we got quite emotional,” she says, adding that she last saw him perform at O Heraldo’s musical tribute show for Alfred Rose, back in 2007. “This is a great loss for musicians everywhere,” she said. Abdonio’s drumming can also be heard in the music of greats like M Boyer, Jerome D’Souza, Lawrence Saldanha, Fr Peter Cardozo and Wilmix-Sharon among others.
Introduced to the Bombay music scene of the 1950’s by his eldest brother Johnny, Abdonio began performing regularly at the most happening hotels, making a name for himself as a groovy, versatile drummer who excelled across all musical genres.
“The first time I watched Abdonio play was in Mumbai, at the All India Radio studio. I was a teenager and remember being floored by his performance. He played with a Parsi band, ‘GoodiSevai’, which was a hot band in their day, playing such smashing hits,” recalls Bondo Fernandes, a legendary drummer himself. “He had a peculiar style of playing that perfectly suited the Konkani hits of those days – no drummer of today can play the way he played the drums – it was fascinating to watch,” he adds. Bondo was overjoyed to be invited as the chief guest for the launch of Abdonio’s own ‘Alvarado’ album several years ago. “I remember calling him a maestro and an inspiration, when I went up on stage, he was so pleased,” he reminisces.
“Abdonio bab was a legend, I have been listening to him play from my childhood. He and his brothers were phenomenal jazz musicians, and made a great name for themselves on the Bombay live music scene. His contribution to Konkani tiatr and Alfred Rose’s beautiful melodies is unparalleled. He was also an excellent violinist and trombone player. His loss has hit us very hard,” says Glenn Pinto, a jazz drummer himself.
Abdonio has also played for well-known tiatrists like J P Souzalin, Alexinho de Candolim, C Alvares, Jacint Vaz, RemmieColaco, M Boyer, Prem Kumar, Champion Peter, Alfred Rose, John Claro, Joe Rose, Aristides Dias and Prince Jacob, besides many commercial and amateur directors.
In the mid-fifties, Abdonio also penned, directed and staged tiatrs ‘Kitem Amcho Fuddar’ and ‘Durdoxea’.
“He was my childhood hero. I was his student; he has taught me a lot. He has played the drums on cruise ships, in hotels, for circus bands, cabaret, tiatr, he was extremely versatile and down-to-earth. He continued playing into his old age and loved having visitors – especially musicians. He would say, ‘Oh, my family has come to see me’,” says Xavier de Moira ‘Paklo’ tearfully.
Despite his failing health over the past few years, Abdonio held on to a child-like enthusiasm for music and was ever ready with his drumsticks to perform for visitors, and was often accompanied by his young granddaughter Jeslyn on the trumpet.
