Family gatherings must be brilliant when your mum and dad are the famous Brazilian singer/songwriter Joyce and percussionist Tutty Moreno (they of Samba Jazz & Outras Bossas), and your sister Ana Martins (aka Anané) who happens to be married to producer Louie Vega of Masters At Work fame.

And for those who have gone and bought From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene, here’s a modern reinterpretation of some “rootsy” Brazilian classics.

Ms Moreno is a true carioca (daughter of Rio) who was singing for Milton Nascimento at an early age and you can almost feel her dance as she sings on these tracks. Starting with ‘Deixa A Nega Gingar’ and by ‘Bebete’ (track 3), I’m totally in love with this CD. This is the Latin underground (well in the UK at least) that Peterson and Forge used to play at the shrine of Dingwalls that you couldn’t get you’re hands on at the time; but now we can all get it courtesy of Joe Davis and Far Out Recordings.

And whilst Forge and GP, used to plug the ‘one track’, this album covers the samba, bossa, a touch of acid-jazz, psychedelic, folky tropicalia to even the samba francaise -‘Pourquoi?’, qui, qui, alore! ‘Pour quoi?’ is a high speed stunner with some big horn (reminiscent of Ashley Slater on the Dub Pistols new album Rum & Coke) that’s so odd ball due to the French element; I think it’s my favourite of the set.

As you’d imagine on an album produced by Joyce (she of Visions Of Dawn), there’s a star line up of musicians on the session including Mum and Dad, John Donato and Orlando. And what comes over, is that this was recorded live especially on the bar room trio jazz of ‘Que Besteira’.

This is her sixth album, her second for Far Out Recordings following the experimental Meu Samba Torto, and it’s not a bad idea to plunder the back catalogue of legends like Jorge Ben, Elza Soares, Joao Donato and Gilberto Gil but what that cover doesn’t convey is how lively this album; Ms. Moreno is no wall flower - lets dance!

Reviewed: Clara Moreno - Miss Balanço (Far Out Recordings) Cat. No: FARO141
Release date: 18th June 2009
Tracklisting:
1 Deixa A Nega Gingar (3:33)
2 Brincando De Samba (3:36)
3 Bebete (5:15)
4 Mestiço (3:09)
5 Bruxaria (2:48)
6 Pourquoi? (Nega Sem Sandalia) (4:12)
7 Uala Ualalá (3:06)
8 Que Besteira (5:07)
9 Mais Valia Não Chorar (3:47)
10 Vai Devagarinho (3:38)
11 Tamanco No Samba (3:49)
12 Jeito Bom De Sofrer (3:00)
13 Balanço Zona Sul (2:57)
14 Samba De Negro (3:44)

Links:
www.myspace.com/claramoreno</a
faroutrecordings.com
myspace.com/faroutrecordings
Gilles Peterson :: 11th June 2009 :: Strings, Things and Cinematic Voices.
Cinematic 3
Claude Nougaro - ‘Bidonville’ (Vadim) “A lot of what you heard has been released on the Vadim label out of Paris .. people like Claude Nougaro, wow! What a great version of ‘Berimbeu’ (‘Bidonville’)”