Hugo Sanbone

Brazilian jazz trombonist, composer and educator Hugo Sanbone is a Rath Artist whose professional work centres on performance, composition, and large-ensemble music. His artistic practice connects Brazilian and Afro-diasporic musical traditions with jazz, with the trombone serving as a central voice in his work as a performer and creator.

With more than 20 years of professional experience, Hugo has performed with and alongside artists including Ron Carter, Tony Vega, Nanny Assis, Arturo O’Farrill, and Etienne Charles, as well as ensembles including the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Orkestra Rumpilezz, NEOJIBA, and the New York Ska Orchestra. His performance credits include Blue Note New York, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, SummerStage, Bimhuis, Casa Clamores, and the Gnawa Festival.

Hugo is the founder and artistic director of Sanbone Pagode Orquestra and the Yemanjá Project, through which he develops original compositions and arrangements rooted in Brazilian musical traditions, pagode, jazz, and Afro-diasporic music. These projects reflect his focus on large-ensemble performance, orchestration, rhythmic language, and developing the trombone as a distinctive voice in this musical context.

Hugo maintains an active professional career as a performer, composer, arranger, and educator in the United States, working with jazz ensembles, big bands, and commercial and event bands.

He teaches trombone, trumpet, jazz, composition, and arranging. He is a PhD candidate in Music Composition at the University of Utah, has pursued graduate studies in jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and holds a graduate degree in Music Education from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).