By Chris Hovan

Historically, jazz has had a way of breaching boundaries before the rest of society followed suit. Consider how jazz bands of the ’50s and ’60s were integrated at a time when much of America still saw blacks shunted to the back of the bus. It was also during that era that the influence of world cultures started to be felt in contemporary jazz. The bebop of Dizzy Gillespie would take on a new dimension with Latin percussionist Chano Pozo adding what bandleader Jelly Roll Morton defined as "that Spanish tinge." Then, in 1962, Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd launched a new sensation with their own take on the Brazilian bossa nova, and the mass audience just couldn’t get enough of what became an early exemplar of "world music," way before there was such a term.

Even all these years later, the potency of authentic Brazilian music continues to be alluring to a worldwide audience – and now it’s not only through the auspices of jazz artists. That’s a good thing for singer/songwriter Joyce, one of Brazil’s greatest musical exports. Steeped in the conventions of bossa nova, samba and other folkloric styles, she brings a clarity and sparkle to her traditional, jazz-inflected and dance-ready music that is eminently appealing. And that appeal spans the globe, from London to Japan. Furthermore, it’s not only sophisticated crowds and jazz heads that are digging what they hear. Somehow, that appeal has expanded to include a range of underground rock bands from Stereolab to Superchunk to Tortoise.

From her home in Rio de Janeiro, Joyce graciously took some time to chat with All About Jazz and the discussion included information about her entry into music as a child as well as her most recent recordings.

All About Jazz: Tell us about your earliest memories of being involved in music as a child growing up in Brazil.

Joyce: Music was always present at our home in Rio. I was born and raised in the beautiful neighborhood of Copacabana and the school I attended, a few blocks away, was in Ipanema. Those were the places where things were happening in the sixties. One of my older brothers, Newton, 13 years older than me, was a professional guitar player when he was very young. Those were the bossa nova days, so I grew up listening to that music and watching him play with his friends, some of which became famous later, like Roberto Menescal and Leny Andrade.

AAJ: Who are some of the musicians who have influenced you as an artist?

Joyce: Most of all, as a composer, I have to mention Antonio Carlos Jobim. He was the master for our generation and beyond. Then Joao Gilberto, who taught us that voice and guitar can be an instrument altogether. I listened also to a lot of traditional samba, classical music and jazz. All those musics together were the cultural environment where I was bred.

AAJ: Tell us about your involvement with the traditional music of Brazil, which is commonly referred to as MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira).

Joyce: I am deeply involved with the music of my country as a whole, mainly with the styles originally from Rio, like bossa nova, samba and choro. A couple of years ago I created and hosted a TV program dedicated to this music called Cantos do Rio, which was a wonderful experience. As a singer and a writer, I am mainly involved with my own style, which is a development of the styles I mentioned before, with a touch of jazz. The British called it hard bossa, which is a nice definition, in my opinion.

AAJ: A lot of people think of Feminina as your first album, but in fact you have been a recording artist since 1968. What musical endeavors were you involved in during the ‘70s?

Joyce: Actually there was not a lot happening in the early ‘70s in my musical life. I had two babies then, so I was really busy at home. In 1975 I returned to action as side musician for the fabulous poet Vinicius de Moraes (who wrote the original lyrics for "Girl from Ipanema") and for the multi-instrumentalist Egberto Gismonti. In '76, I moved to Italy and released an album there. In '77, I lived in New York City and made an album produced and arranged by Claus Ogerman called Natureza, featuring a lot of great jazz players like Michael Brecker, Joe Farrell and others, that unfortunately never came out. Then I returned to Brazil, went back to writing my music, and had a lot of songs recorded by great Brazilian stars such as Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento. That's when EMI signed me and I produced the album Feminina.

AAJ: How do you approach the task of song writing?

Joyce: It's something very natural to me; music just comes to me as a gift from the gods and I am thankful for this! Jobim used to say that his best co-writer was his piano. Whenever he put his hands on it, good ideas would flow. I can say exactly the same regarding my guitar.

AAJ: Although you definitely have your own sound, I find it interesting that several of your recent albums seem to explore areas beyond the bossa world. I'm speaking of the jazz standards you sing in English on the Delirios de Orfeu album and the samba school chorus for "Rodando a Baiana" and "Sexy Sylvia" on Ilha Brasil. Do you go into making a record with a concept in mind or does that develop as you work out the pieces and the instrumentation?

Joyce: I basically start any album with a definite concept in my mind. Delirios de Orfeu was planned to be a Brazilian rendition of some jazz standards along with some Brazilian standards played in a jazzy way. "Sexy Silvia” was a little lonely in the Ilha Brasil album, but it was one of my favorite tunes co-written with Edu Lobo. And samba will always have a main influence in my music.

AAJ: They've recently reissued your first album in Japan and it seems that the Japanese and European audiences have really embraced your work. What is it like playing live for them?

Joyce: They're both wonderful audiences, very well informed about everything that ever happened in Brazilian culture and always willing to hear more. It's a joy to play for them. About my first album, all I can say is that it's real proof that human beings can improve with time.

AAJ: You've made a tribute album spotlighting the work of Elis Regina (Astronauta: Songs of Elis on Blue Jackel Records). Talk about her influence on your work.

Joyce: She basically had no influence on my work, as we were contemporaries, but she was a dear friend, a wonderful singer, and the first major artist in Brazil to have recorded my music. I will always be thankful to her for this. After she recorded my music, everybody here started to do the same.

AAJ: What's your usual schedule like? Do you do a lot of touring?

Joyce: I live in Rio and I intend to keep it this way. But I usually tour a lot worldwide, with at least one big tour in Japan and one in Europe every year. The U.S. is also a place where I play whenever it's possible and of course I play a lot here in Brazil, a huge country. As an independent artist, I usually record a new album every year for different markets and different labels.

AAJ: Any upcoming records or projects you'd like to talk about?

Joyce: I am presently having my latest album, Tudo Bonito, which features the great composer and pianist Joao Donato, released worldwide. It already came out in Japan, Brazil and many European countries. I have a new album ready that will be released in the UK in June by Far Out Records. It is called Gafieira Moderna and it's a new vision of the traditional ballroom dance in Rio. It also features a short film shot on location during the sessions here to be watched on the computer. It's really great and I love it!