Joel is a singer-songwriter who plays a magical strange guitar called sazouki, a giant mandolin invented by a luthier in France. He also plays bass, electric mandolin, kalimba and keyboards. Joel was born in Brazil and lives in France. The groove and the harmonies from his native country are always present in his music. He recorded two albums in Brazil both produced by his music partner and great musician Swami Jr. who among other things was the music director of the Buena Vista Social Club. Joel writes songs with different atmospheres - mellow bossa nova, energetic samba, introspective folk song, tribal hip-hop, classic latin rock and so on. A few things though are prevalent. Sincerity, musical quality and good vibes! In the two albums recorded in Brazil Joel played mandocello and mandolin. The first album, Canções, has many special guests including Chico Pinheiro and Eugénia Melo e Castro, and a traditional Brazilian flavor. The second one, Labirinto, has a very specific color with a Bossa Nova quartet (Tiago Costa, Swami Jr, Sergio Reze and Joel) and a string orchestra. Besides singing his own compositions, Joel makes original arrangements for songs from various great songwriters. He covered Bob Dylan, Chico Buarque, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Jobim, Cole Porter, Georges Brassens and many others. ​ ​