Antônio Carlos Jobim once called her one of the greatest singers of all time. She has recorded around forty acclaimed albums, received four Latin Grammy nominations, and written hundreds of songs interpreted by some of Brazil’s most celebrated artists. Yet Joyce Moreno never achieved the same level of international recognition as Jobim, João Gilberto, or Caetano Veloso.
Joyce Silveira Moreno was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1948. At fourteen, she taught herself guitar by studying her brother, who was thirteen years her senior. At sixteen, she made her first studio recording at the invitation of guitarist and bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal. Three years later, she became the first Brazilian artist to write a song from a female first-person perspective – an approach considered controversial enough to be censored by the military dictatorship.
Six decades later, she is still touring the world, performing at jazz festivals and concert halls. In 2023, she played a magical sold-out show at Fasching. This autumn, she returns. A good excuse to dust off a few old clichés: icon, pioneer, and national treasure.
