ABOUT
Julia Dos Reis is a creative violist who resides in London; a musician who is most content when moving freely from composing to performing, most keenly performing with improvisatory elements. She does this with her primary musical love, her improvising string trio, J.A.M. String Collective, who released their debut EP “J∆M” in May 2023, featuring legendary British saxophonist Steve Williamson (TSWE, The Roots) and emerging drum talent Zoe Pascal (Zenel). The EP was released to a sell-out show at Toulouse Lautrec, and followed by an 11-date UK tour supported by Help Musicians, closing with a performance at Glastonbury Festival. Julia’s composition ‘Golden Scenes’ was featured on BBC Radio 3. In December 2023 they were awarded the Development Award delivered through the Peter Whittingham Jazz Awards.
Julia's creative practice has always been threaded together by a love of pop, as well as jazz, and growing up she played both viola and bass in a variety of bands, and now she takes that passion into leading the function string quartet, Soli Strings, for whom she arranges an array of tunes from 'All of Me' and 'Moon River' to 'In My Life' and 'Feel It Still'. The quartet play regularly at weddings and events in venues such as The Wallace Collection and The PIG, and have also recently performed with acclaimed composer/pianist Ilario Ferari at King’s Place and Pizza Express Soho.
Julia also regularly performs with bands such as the grime/country outfit The Rooftop Assembly, and improvised dance/music collaborations with Join the Din, as well as with larger ensembles such as The Nu Civilsation Orchestra, Jazz Jamaica All Stars, and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Her extensive performing has taken her to venues across Europe, including Ronnie Scott’s supporting Nubya Garcia, Paris’ Grande Halle de La Villette with The Nu Civilisation Orchestra tour of Marvin Haye’s ‘What’s Going On?” (“improvised solos [of] individual violin and viola players was for me the musical highlight of the entire triumphant evening” – The Blue Moment)
“improvised solos [of] individual violin and viola players was for me the musical highlight of the entire triumphant evening”
The Blue Moment
As well as a 2019 UK tour with the saxophonist Steve Williamson ("pushing at the boundaries of jazz... delivering walking lines, heavy riffs and rattles and taps, are thoroughly contemporary.... [StringTing] much more than a warm up act" – Financial Times 4*), in 2022/3 she performed alongside saxophonist Courtney Pine CBE (Jazz Warriors, Omar) in his 14-date “Spirituality” UK tour with Zoe Rahman on piano.
Julia began her jazz education with award winning Jazz programme Tomorrow’s Warriors (Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd, Zara McFarlane,) and attended sessions there led by The Queen’s Medal for Music recipient, Gary Crosby OBE. It was from these sessions that the ‘flagship’ ensemble, StringTing trio, was formed, which years later formed the foundation for J.A.M. String Collective. Julia continued her formal training with a Masters in Jazz Performance at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she studied under jazz violinist, Chris Garrick.
Alongside performing, Julia also frequently works as a session musician and has featured on Daniel Casimir’s award-winning album “Boxed In”, as well as tracks on by Jungle, KIANJA, RYBES, Tess Hirst, and Ni Maxine, performing alongside artists such as Omar Puente, Jake Shears, Anna Calvi, ESKA, Noel McCoy.