Brasil, though they were not without controversy. Certain members of the white Rio elite were not happy with black men performing in venues for example. Os Oito Batutas, and Pixinguinha specifically, were the target of attacks reflecting anxieties about race and the influence of Europe and the United States on Brazilian music. The group, which consisted of both white and black musicians, performed mainly in upper-class venues where black musicians had previously been prohibited. Moreover, they were criticized ferociously by those who felt that Brazilian musical culture should reflect primarily its European roots and that a black musical ambassador was an embarrassment. Finally, Pixinguinha's compositional style and his incorporation of trumpets and saxophones was criticized as being corrupted by American jazz, which was then becoming popular via radio broadcasts. After performing at a gig for the dance couple Duque and Gabi at the Assírio cabaret, they were discovered by the wealthy Arnaldo Guinle who sponsored their first European tour in 1921. In Paris they served as ambassadors of Brazilian music, performing for six months at the Schéhérazade cabaret. Their tour was a complete success and Pixinguinha received much praise from many distinguished Parisian musical artists including the Harold de Bozzi. Upon returning to Brazil, they toured to Buenos Aires where they made recordings for RCA Victor. It is in these recordings that the mature sound of Os Oito Batutas can be heard. Pixinguinha returned from Paris with a broadened musical perspective. He began to incorporate jazz standards and ragtime into his group's repertoire, changing the lineup dramatically by adding saxophones, trumpets, trombone, piano, and a drum kit. The name was changed to simply to reflect the new sound. He had also purchased a saxophone for his personal use which he began to experiment with. Orquestra Victor Brasileira In the late 1920s, Pixinguinha was hired by RCA Victor to lead the Orquestra Victor Brasileira, and during his tenure there he refined his skills as an arranger. It was common for choro musicians at the time to improvise their parts based on a simple piano score, but the growing demand for radio music from large ensembles required fully realized written scores for every instrument, and Pixinguinha was one of the few composers with this skill. It was in this role that he created some of his most famous compositions, which were popularized by well-known singers of the age such as Francisco Alves