The Jazz Of Trombonist Joabe Reis Invades The Streets Of São Paulo In Short Film ‘I Just Wanna Breathe’

Renowned trombone player, arranger and music producer Joabe Reis is one of the most iconic musicians of Brazilian jazz right now. After several years collaborating with great artists such as Bob Mintzer (USA), Hermeto Pascoal, Hamilton de Holanda, Ed Motta and Roberto Menescal, he started his solo journey in 2020 with the album Crew In Church. His most recent project is the two-track EP I Just Wanna Breathe, with one of its songs featuring rapper Neto (Síntese).

“This EP has several reflections, but the main one is how art has been suffocated in these times of pandemic, but even so it has managed to act as an outlet for the Brazilian population at various times”, explains Joabe.

To illustrate this, Reis produced a short film directed by Carlos Franco. The 10 minute short film follows the musicians closely, giving that feeling of closeness between them and the audience. Josué Lopez (tenor sax), Sidmar Vieira (trumpet), Cleverson Silva (drums), Ricardo Braga (percussion), Agenor de Lorenzi (keyboard) and Felipe Pizzutiello (bass) are on stage. The images were recorded at night on the streets of São Paulo, showing the connection between urban jazz and hip-hop, an evident characteristic in the musician’s work.

As an artist, he strives to connect the two genres. Combining jazz with rap is a way for Joabe to reach a young audience (mainly from the periphery), which for a long time believed that the musical style created by black people in New Orleans was aimed only at intellectuals.

“Miles (Davis) was responsible for uniting jazz with many other styles, right!? So, we see that the story didn’t stop there with Miles”, he observes. “Jazz is very present in my music, because even if I make a theme that totally refers to hip hop, R&B or neo soul, from the moment we start to improvise the solo parts of brass or even bass, there’s jazz. Therefore, the structure and body of my project make reference to various genres, including pop and funk music, but the essence is jazz”.

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