The documentary Samba & Jazz is a vibey affair. Stressing harmonies between Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans, Jefferson Mello's tale of two rhythms is also a tale of two cities. It's this shared pulse that makes American jazz and Brazilian samba close "brothers of blackness," despite differences in instruments, culture and geography. And both family representatives trace their roots to Africa.
Beginning in Rio -- which is also where the film played for Festival do Rio audiences last week -- Mello draws parallels between urban-born samba and jazz culture. The debut director then takes his quest on the road to New Orleans, where such music rituals as Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras unfold before his ready camera.
We see New Orleans through the eyes of jazz artists, just as samba artists take us for a spin through musical Rio. Both parties do triple duty as audience proxies and as narrative catalysts while also lending their stamp of approval to Mello's thesis. Like his handsome photography book The Paths of Jazz, the film teases out the rhymes and reasons why samba and jazz jive. Examples abound: Pedra do Sal and Congo Square; Madureira and the French Quarter; Serrano Empire samba school and the Young Men Olympian Junior Benevolent Association; Candomblé and voodoo; Cacique de Ramos and Mardi Gras Indians--the list goes on.
Mello's past as a fashion photographer and director of commerical videos -- for Botafogo and Vasco da Gama clubs -- is manifest in the vibrant ambiance and visual compositions. Yet he resists the urge to sanitize or fetishize the carny imagery, and instead trusts the authentic street culture to shambol through. Arguably he honed his verité aesthetic producing Ricardo Abeleira's short documentaries about Botafogo, The Rescue of Dignity (2004) and Rio Is Black and White (2006). Mello himself credits his grandfather, who taught him photography, and his own hankerings to make a film of the syncopations that had filled his imagination for nearly 20 years. I met up with Mello at the unveiling of Samba & Jazz at Cinépolis Lagoon, under the fest's Première Brasil banner.
Q: How did you first come to the topic of samba and jazz?
JM: In 1996 I went to New Orleans to start a photographic work about the world of jazz, and I met Gregg Stafford. He took me to see a jazz parade. I was impressed with the amount of visual information on display, and I realized the similarity between jazz and samba. There I got the idea the screenplay. But I was busy photographing for The Paths of Jazz.
Q: What surprised you in the making of Samba & Jazz that you hadn't come across on the shoot for your book?
JM: Actually, about jazz and New Orleans I wasn't really surprised because I was so familiar with the material. The surprise came from my city. For example, I didn't know about the "gurufim," which is similar to the jazz funeral.
Q: What did you want to express in mixing black-and-white and color footage?
JM: As a photographer, I've always had more of a preference for black and white. I decided on a standard lighting rig in the interviews and always liked the tone in black and white for my interviewees -- and color for other images of the street. Only the images of the jazz funeral did I choose to film directly in black and white. I wanted to transmit an impression of old pictures.
Q: How did your background in fashion photography -- and in making commercial videos and ads -- influence your camera work on the film?
JM: To photograph fashion you have to have very good taste and a sense of control for natural lights and artificial light. I did many jobs for advertising and the CD covers of many musicians. The ads served as film school for me.
Q: Did any of your Rio characters ever meet your New Orleans characters?
JM: Not yet, but in the future I plan to make this happen.
Q: With floats in Rio costing as much as $90,000 each, that's very big business! You hint at the politics of running such a high-stakes affair, but you also show that it creates employment for lots of people and engages them productively. How do the risks compare with the advantages?
JM: Here in Brazil, Carnival became a big deal, especially with the TV broadcast of the parade in many countries around the world. Each school receives a grant for this transmission. And they can increase their revenue with rehearsals, selling drinks and fantasies -- and also with attracting sponsorships. This generates many jobs.
Q: Samba and jazz play more of a spiritual role than the general viewer might have known before seeing your film. How did you envision relaying its nearly religious function?
JM: The religious issue is very much present in jazz as in samba, but I featured this in an implicit way while showing the African influences. Surely this will turn up in another script.
Q: One of the most interesting moments in the film takes us to the public square in New Orleans where slaves were allowed to dance. Talk about the historical roots of equating music with freedom.
JM: This occurred in both New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, and this certainly occurs in this entire universe today. This is the message of jazz and samba. This tradition still exists in the same places, giving people the moment and space in which they could socialize and feel free.
