{"id":2,"date":"2008-11-09T17:47:49","date_gmt":"2008-11-10T01:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.luandajones.com\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2019-06-25T10:53:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T15:53:55","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/luandajones.com\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is often said that the only constant is change, but so often in a person\u2019s life that change is plays an essential role in both personal and artistic growth. Such has been the case in the life of Brazilian singer\/songwriter Luanda Jones, whose musical output has shifted quite significantly from her early successes in her native Rio de Janeiro to her most recent presentations half a world removed. <\/span><\/p>\n Born into a musical family, Luanda was blessed with a deep melodic richness early on. Her father Luis Moreno, a drummer for famed artists Raul Seixas, Elis Regina, and prog rockers \u201cO Ter\u00e7o\u201d, and mother Irin\u00e9a Maria Ribeiro, a recognized songwriter of over 30 years with credits including the legendary Tim Maia, each provided their inquisitive daughter with an early musical education most would dream of. Those expansive first teachings, combined with a vibrant, incredibly sonic home atmosphere, helped to carry Luanda to the stage at the tender age of nine and spawn a long-running career of artistic expression from which she has never strayed. <\/span><\/p>\n Her journey from adolescence to adulthood found the gifted singer drawing not only from such an esteemed collection of Brazilian stalwarts as Tom Jobim, Jorge Benjor, Gilberto Gil, and Rita Lee, but also the inescapable reach of international superstars like the Beatles and jazz great Chick Corea. Newfound and ever-growing respect from a number of notable peers quickly translated into coveted appearances in many of Brazil\u2019s storied competitive music festivals, sparking a quest for sonic expansion that, in the winter of 2006, would propel Luanda beyond her country\u2019s borders and on to her new home in Toronto, Canada. <\/span><\/p>\n Despite the understandable difficulties inherent in throwing herself into the unknown artistic reality of a completely foreign land, it wasn\u2019t long before Luanda began making a name for herself in the Toronto music scene. Apart from becoming an early staple at west end hotspot Lula Lounge and being featured in the 2007 edition of Toronto\u2019s annual BrazilFest, she was also called upon to perform in each of the first two years of Toronto\u2019s now burgeoning LuminaTO festival. Luanda earned two interview features the following year on CBC radio\u2019s Big City Small World and Q, with Jian Ghomeshi, for which she was asked to play alongside David Letterman\u2019s Late Show bandleader Paul Shaffer. <\/span><\/p>\n The burgeoning songstress was later joined for an appearance on CBC Radio 2\u2019s Canada Live by her mother Irin\u00e9a, who was in town for a series of small shows. The fruits of that visit were revealed in Luanda\u2019s resulting debut disc Aquarela, which was released in October \u201909. Recorded with some of the top global music players in Toronto, the record featured not only Luanda\u2019s own original compositions, but a few treats from her songwriting parents. That album received much praise throughout her growing fanbase, gaining regular rotation on the ever-supportive CBC radio and drawing legions of new followers to her many showcases both around Toronto and in other sections of the province. It also marked the end of a cycle in terms of the singer finding her feet in her new land, while helping to kick off a new phase of personal growth and exploration overseas in Europe. <\/span><\/p>\n