Brazilian Samba Pioneers Joyce & Tutty Moreno Join Adrian Younge On New Jazz Is Dead Album
Legendary Brazilian artists Joyce and Tutty Moreno – the celebrated vocalist/ guitarist and master drummer who helped define the sound of Brazilian popular music, have joined forces with Adrian Younge to create Joyce e Tutty Moreno (JID027), a masterful album that captures the ethereal beauty of collective improvisation, the weight of saudade, and the unbreakable musical bond between two of Brazil’s most revered artists.
Joyce, often hailed as the “female voice of Brazilian music,” is a singer, guitarist, composer, and arranger whose career spans over five decades. With a discography of more than 30 albums, she is a pioneer of the 1960s MPB scene and a defining force in Brazilian jazz. Her husband and musical partner, Tutty Moreno, is one of Brazil’s most distinguished drummers, known for his delicate touch, swing, and decades of collaboration with artists ranging from Tom Jobim to Hermeto Pascoal. Together, they represent the apex of Brazilian musical sophistication.
What sets Joyce apart in the pantheon of Brazilian music is her singular voice as a songwriter. In an era dominated by male composers, Joyce emerged as the only female songwriter of her generation to be accepted as an equal among giants like Milton Nascimento, Toninho Horta, Marcos Valle and João Donato. Her ability to hold her own in that company speaks not only to her extraordinary talent but also to her resilience as a woman in an industry that consistently pressured her to simply sing what the labels wanted. She refused. She wrote. She arranged. She defined her own path. That spirit of independence and creative integrity runs through every note of JID027.
The project was set in motion when Adrian Younge and Andrew Lojero traveled to Rio de Janeiro to extend an invitation to Joyce and Tutty. Their friend João Donato, whose own JID007 had already been released by Jazz Is Dead, vouched for the project and gave it his blessing. The plan was for Joyce and Tutty to travel to Los Angeles for a concert with him, and to record their own album with Younge: a meeting of creative minds across generations and continents.
Tragically, during preparations for the trip, Donato fell gravely ill. A single, heartbreaking rehearsal in Rio revealed that the 89-year-old legend was in severe pain. “We couldn’t even finish the rehearsal, because he was suffering so much,” Joyce recalled. Diagnosed with a spinal tumor just days before the scheduled journey, Donato was unable to travel. He passed away shortly after.
“I need to say that this work for me and Tutty was done at a very difficult time, because our great friend and partner João Donato was hospitalized precisely during this period, and passed away soon after,” said Joyce. Tutty added: “Our heads and hearts were with Donato.”
Despite the immense emotional toll, Joyce and Tutty travelled to Los Angeles. The concert, featuring an impeccable band of local musicians, was sold out. The recording sessions, held at Younge’s Linear Labs studio, became an act of catharsis. Joyce brought lead sheets of her own compositions, intended for the album. Younge contributed additional instrumental tracks, over which Joyce improvised melodies and lyrics with instinctual brilliance. Tutty’s drumming—subtle, precise, and deeply felt—anchored every session.
The album is a delicate balance of premeditation and improvisation. Joyce’s compositions—”Mandala,” “Uanã Etê,” “Is This Love,” “Fingers,” and “Janeiro”—sit alongside instrumental pieces by Younge, where Joyce’s voice becomes a horn, a flute, a river of melody without words. The album closes with “Círculo Vicioso,” a recitation of the iconic poem by Machado de Assis, Brasil’s greatest writer. Joyce’s spoken word, delivered in her native Portuguese, transforms the track into a meditation on life, death, and the cyclical nature of art.
Joyce e Tutty Moreno JID027 is a testament to Joyce and Tutty’s enduring artistry: a document of two masters working at the height of their powers, transforming grief into beauty, and reminding us why Joyce’s voice, as both a writer and a singer, remains indispensable.
First single ‘Janeiro’ is out now – stream HERE
Joyce e Tutty Moreno JID027 · Joyce, Tutty Moreno & Adrian Younge
Jazz Is Dead | Release Date: August 7, 2026