Brazilian Heart Music / Katia Moraes

The unique Brazilian singer and lyricist Ktia Moraes began her career in Rio de Janeiro in the 80's with her energetic band "O Espirito da Coisa" . Since then she has performed and/or recorded with top Brazilian acts like Sergio Mendes, Airto Moreira, Oscar Castro-Neves, Rita Lee, Elba Ramalho, Sandy and Junior, Banda Cheiro de Amor, George Duke, Alex Acua and Justo Almario's Tolu, Latin Project, and Praful.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1990, she started lending her voice to films and television for dubbing and "Voice-overs". Since then she had performed with Sambaguru, Pure Samba, 22-piece Orchestra Feijoada Completa, Samba Society, Falso Baiano, The Rio Thing, Midnight Drums, Sol & Mar, Viver Brasil Dance Company, Folk Ballet of Brasil, Badaue, Man and Machine, and many more.
In 1996, she released her first CD "Ten Feet and the Sun" in the U.S. with Brasil Nuts band. In 1999 she released "Ginga" with Sambaguru, and in 2003 "Live" by Kufala Records. Her 4th CD with Sambaguru is called "Navegar ao Sol" by Moondo Records. In 2009 Sambaguru released "Tribo" that was on the Preliminary Nominating Ballot for the Grammy 2009.
The EP "Cabeça" was produced by Lynne Earls ((link hidden)ng, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim) and released in January 2013. A new recording release is set for January 2016.

You can catch Katia & Brazilian Hearts every Wednesday at Disney California Adventure Park from November 2016 to January 2017 at the Paradise Garden Bandstand.

Sambaguru featuring Katia Moraes is featured on the musical score for the film "Woman on Top", a Fox Searchlight Picture released in September 2000. She also had her voice featured on the musical score of the 2011 full length movie"Everyday", "The Last Word", "Arrested Development", and the Cult Japanese animation "Cowboy Bebop". In 2001 and 2002 Sambaguru was nominated in the best World Music category for the New Times Newspaper Music Awards.
Ktia Moraes has performed at the Sydney Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Hollywood Bowl, House of Blues, Ford Amphitheater, Getty Center, California Plaza, Playboy Jazz Summer Fest, Verizon Music Festival, Cerritos Center, Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, Jazz Bakery, Queen Mary, Hollywood Palladium, JVC Jazz Fest, Luna Park, Sweet Pea Festival in Montana, The World Famous Baked Potato, Santa Monica Festival, The French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, Riverside Jazz Festival, African Market Place, Grass Valley World Music Festival, IAJE - Jazz Educators Convention, among other events and venues in Brazil, the U.S. and abroad.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

"Remarkable throughout was the robust singing of Katia Moraes, providing a narrative that rose above even the thundering drums of five tireless drummers. Ms. Moraes is a vocal powerhouse who seems ready to sing at full throttle all night long."
Glen Creason, review of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts show.

“What a great way to start our season. Katia engaged our audiences like few other performers have. A truly passionate professional performer, Katia was a joy to work with and the audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation...both nights!”
Christian Wolf, Executive Director for Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation

“Blessed with a songbird’s voice, a poet’s heart, an educator’s enthusiasm and an entertainer’s vision, Moraes is the complete package.”
ENTERTAINMENT TODAY

“Moraes strutted on stage with the grace and attitude of an Amazon princess...Moraes danced, sang and communicated with her fans for over an hour, delivering an impressive performance.”
LATIN STYLE

“Katia Moraes is a sweet-voiced pixie who radiates a sunny energy, with traces of Brazilian great Elis Regina in Moraes’s singing.”
THE VALLEY BEAT

“Brazilian singer Katia Moraes -- a born afternoon sunshine performer...”
VARIETY

“Katia is an absolute dynamo on stage.”
L.A. JAZZ SCENE

“Ktia’s voice can be powerful and heartfelt, coy and compelling, expansive or intimate.”
THE BRAZILIAN MUSIC REVIEW

“Moraes, always an irrepressibly effervescent performer...”
LOS ANGELES TIME

"Leapfrogging from straight pagode to funked-out samba to rock, Ktia’s hearty vocal cords dominate...”
THE BEAT

"(...) But there ain’t a Brazilian singer in town who is as irresistible as Katia Moraes. Crowds go nuts when she performs. The energy, the charisma, the sheer joy of Brazilian music just fills a space."
LA WEEKLY