Samba Esquema Novo ‘de Novo’

She's her mother's daughter, all right. Her voice may not yet be the national treasure that Joyce Moreno's has become, but Clara has a sultry personal stamp of her own. Her father is Nelson Angelo, another luminary of MPB, so it's not surprising that Clara, too, follows a musical path.

This is her third album for Far Out and arguably her most mature to date. A tribute to her heritage, it's a new take on Jorge Ben's seminal debut album of 1963, which launched the immortal song ‘Mas Que Nada’ and put a new spring in the step of Brazilian sambistas. With no gimmicks it's essentially samba-jazz played straight by a quartet of trombone, piano, drums and double bass. There are, however, a few twists from a new-generation São Paulo production team, such as the occasional discreet use of dub-echo and the drowsy pace that paradoxically refreshes ‘Mas Que Nada’. There are playful duets – with Wilson Simoninha on ‘Vem Morena, Vem’ and with Jair Oliveira on ‘Uála Uálalá’ – and a lovely, lazy interpretation of ‘Quero Esquecer Você’ to savour. Throughout, she sings with the kind of verve that suggests a very promising future for Moreno the Younger.