Looking back to JOC Productions with Lucas Santana

In 2025 gingen we van start met de eerste editie van JOC Productions, het nieuwe productiehuis van het Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw voor musici onder de 35 jaar. Hiermee geven we jonge makers ondersteuning om een eigen muzikale productie te realiseren voor een groot ensemble, in samenwerking met BIMHUIS, TivoliVredenburg, Podium Azijnfabriek en het Wilminktheater. Saxofonist Lucas Santana was de eerste maker die aan de slag ging binnen het productiehuis en creëerde de voorstelling Candomblé. We blikken met hem terug.

What was your first reaction when you read the open call for JOC Productions?

“I had the idea of playing black brazilian music for a while and when I read the open call I thought: ‘this is my opportunity to do that!’. I was afraid that I had to send in samples already and I didn’t have anything professional written for a large ensemble yet but I was still invited. I was touring at the time so adid my application in a McDonald’s in France which was a bit odd, but also funny because there was a committee of five people passing me around on a screen.”

Why Candomblé?

“I'm currently in a period of my life where I'm discovering more and more about my own heritage: about being an African Brazilian. That may sound silly but I was in white schools and was taught by white teachers my whole life. When I turned twentyfive I started to realize that there are not that many black people around me. Candomblé is a religion specifically coming from a black heritage. It also bothered me that the only Brazilian music that people know is bossa nova and samba. Bossa nova is, most of the time, highlighting the soloist or the singer. In samba there is more focus on the community but the person who sings is very important. Candomblé doesn’t exist without the community, celebration and dance. I wanted to highlight the music of Candomblé to show that here lies the foundation of all the other Brazilian music and give people a different perspective on Brazilian music.”

How did your band came about?

“It’s a bit cliché.. because I went for both the best musicians and good friends. I worked with Yariv Vroom and Efraïm Trujillo for the first time. Me and bass player Matheus Nicolayewsky and the dancers Ranny Lee Joy and Guilherme Duarte are from Brazil. But background was not my main focus. A big part of Candomblé is inclusion so it was important to me to have a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds in the band, I didn’t think about nationality. All the songs have a different rhythm and all the rhythms are new to the musicians, but because they are so good at what they do, they picked it up very quickly!”

What looked easy at first but turned out to be very difficult?

“The fact that I choose my own culture to work with. I started researching and it turns out more than 500 years of history is a lot.. I wanted to do it justice. People will forgive your ‘mistakes’ easier if you look at things from an outsider point of view. But especially because I’m an insider, I didn’t want to tell the ‘wrong’ story and wanted to be complete, which was impossible. I’ve learned a lot in the process which was great. Although to be very honest, it did burn me out a bit. In the end I finished everything just in time.”

What looked difficult but turned out to be easy?

“Play! When I was writing the songs I thought this would be the hardest part because I had to lead the band and play at the same time. The musicians actually made it easy because they are so good. And also; it is just what I can do best and what is second nature.”

What do you hope people would take away from these concerts?

“I hope that they learned something that they didn't know previously and listened to something they haven't listened to before. It was a beautiful experience to show a different side of faith and  Brazil.”

What were the most surprising responses from the public?

“Our show in Bimhuis was completely sold out. After the second song I could see people crying in the audience. At that time I was very stressed out about playing and presenting this project. Until that point, I wasn't thinking about the music at all.. To see people crying to my music was actually very special. To experience that my music is capable of touching people like that.. People said so many beautiful things to me after the concert.”

Where do you see this project in the future?

“I am releasing an album on the 9th of January 2026 on ZenneZ records! And I am secretly thinking about a volume two already.. I only touched upon seven rhythms/Orixás now but there are a lot more stories and rhythms to be told!”

Any advice for future JOC Productions musicians?

“I am very grateful to have this opportunity and that JOC creates this opportunity for a younger generation. During the project I was struggling with time management a bit because it's more than just putting notes on paper. You really have to take care of planning, graphic design and every element of the show. This was also the first time I worked with dancers & light designers. To future musicians doing this I would say: find a good story to tell and dive into it! You can tell the same story in different ways because people connect with notes but also with words, movement and light.”