Reggae far beyond Bob Marley!

Trenchtown is right there, in Humaitá. No, Rio geography hasn't gone crazy and it's not Cesar Maia changing another street name. The Jamaican ghetto, birthplace of reggae, moved to Ballroom only in spirit, thanks to the soundtrack of band Reggae B. The group will perform at the venue on Tuesdays in July, always with guest appearances. And tonight Frejat is showing up.

Born somewhat by chance, at a Bob Marley tribute show last year, Reggae B is a kind of Rio All Star Band, bringing together experienced musicians who manage to find time between rehearsals, shows and recordings of their main bands to play reggae.

The lineup features Bi Ribeiro (Paralamas), Jean Pierre (Cidade Negra), João Fera (Paralamas), Cláudio Menezes (ex-AfroReggae), Marlon (Vitória Régia), Bidu Cordeiro (Paralamas), Ronaldo Silva (son of Robertinho Silva), Valnei Ainê (Negril) and Gustavo Black Alien (ex-Planet Hemp). The meeting of so many heavyweights recalls the Midnight Blues Band, a project that brought together Frejat, Peninha, George Israel and others in the early 90s — the band gave legendary shows at Circo Voador and even performed at Hollywood Rock. The similarity is no coincidence.

"In the beginning, Midnight Blues Band was truly an inspiration" — says Bi. Repertoire avoids worn-out classics. The common points between the two bands end there. Midnight played rock classics from the 50s and 60s. Reggae B, besides venturing into another rhythm, is not a classics band. From Bob Marley, for example, they only play one, "Get up, stand up". The rest of the repertoire brings lesser-known songs by names like Black Uhuru, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Peter Tosh.

"We wanted to play something different from that so-called 'roots reggae', because it seems that for Brazilian bands, reggae ends there. There are many other great things that I and the other band members wanted to show" — says Bi.

The bassist speaks with authority. A fan of the rhythm since the 70s, he was one of the main people responsible for the reggae accent of Paralamas do Sucesso. In '89, Bi took advantage of a break from his band to found Mighty Reggae Beat, another reggae cover band. The "cover band" label, by the way, is starting to feel small for Reggae B. And not just because they're already playing unreleased songs like "Pomar" by Nando Reis and one by Digão, still untitled — "we just call it 'ska'", says Bi. The main thing is what Bi calls the "Reggae B accent". "In this time we've been playing together, we've built such a great unity that naturally the songs come out with our own face" — Bi assesses.