CFUV @ VFF: Review of ‘Samba & Jazz’

Brazilian photographer Jefferson Mello said it was the mid-90s when he first noticed the similarities between jazz and samba. Nearly a decade later, he has exhibited the two styles side-by-side in his documentary Samba & Jazz.

Making jumps between Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans, Mello features established musicians from both locales in elegantly shot interviews. Well-balanced black-and-white playbacks of interviews contrast nicely with vivid color footage of parades and other performances. The subjects in the film speak with evident passion about music and provide insight into the traditions of their genre. The transitions between those speaking of and playing jazz and those who are immersed in samba are seamless, seeming to speak to Mello’s point.

The film makes a correlation early on about the rhythmic similarities between samba and New Orleans-style jazz, and illustrates the way African-influenced percussive elements found new homes across the Americas. As the documentary moves forward it focuses less on the musical similarities between the two styles than I expected, but I only found myself missing it a little. Instead, Mello turns his focus to other factors in which the two communities intersect — and they do intersect in surprising ways. There were several non-music parallels that ring true in Mello’s conversations between the two regions. Fashion as it connects with musical style, for example. Funeral processions. Community building. It serves as an argument to the idea that both samba in Rio and jazz in New Orleans are not only signature musical traditions for the cities, but also important culturally.

The nuances examined by Mello, along with the historical breakdowns and modern-day stories from those he interviews, makes for a fascinating and lively film.

Samba & Jazz holds its Canadian premiere at the Victoria Film Festival on February 11. Catch it at 8:45 pm at The Vic Theatre.

— Linda