Joyce and the Bossa Nova band is a Brazilian jazz ensemble led by singer Joyce Kwon that brings a fresh element of inventive improvisation to bossa nova and MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), the songs of nostalgia.
Joyce Kwon sings like a Brasileira, although she emigrated from Korea and grew up in Los Angeles. Having developed interest in the music and culture of Brazil through Portuguese language studies at UC Berkeley, she taught music to and performed for indigenous people along the Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon.
She has performed stateside in clubs from Los Angeles to New York City. Joyce can be heard on Dick Oatts and Garry Dial’s latest album of Walt Whitman’s poetry set to music, singing “Sometimes With One I Love.”
Incorporating the lilting rhythms of Brazil, the jazz harmonies of the States, and the melancholy tones of Korea, Joyce’s wistful, raw voice invokes the essence of a cool evening at Copacabana beach, if only while her ephemeral performance lasts.