Tudo

The artist formerly known as Joyce has been recording for over 40 years. Antonio Carlos Jobim has called her ‘one of the greatest singers alive’ and she has performed with most of the great and good in Brazilian music. Tudo (Everything), however, is the first album of Moreno’s own compositions in over a decade. Perhaps she is reluctant to measure herself up against the standards of Jobim, Baden Powell and the other illustrious songwriters she has interpreted with such taste over the years. If so, there’s no need for any reticence. Backed by piano, acoustic guitar, bass and drums she trips through a repertoire of songs on the cusp of samba, jazz and bossa nova. There’s such a classic feel to it, you expect a reincarnated Stan Getz to interject.

While some great female voices – like Joni Mitchell’s, say – have dropped an octave or more over time, Moreno’s voice still rings out as perkily as it did in the exquisite Visions of Dawn, recorded in 1976. Whether it’s the exuberant swing of ‘Quero Ouvir João, the rolling, rhythmic ‘Bouio’, the delicious melancholia of ‘Aquelas Canções Em Mim’ or the dreamy ‘Claude et Maurice’, her voice is always confident and in control. This lovely album matures with every listening. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another decade for the next batch of self-penned compositions.