About the NCCP Players
Juarez Moreira
Guitar
Guest Artist
Guitarist, composer and recording artist Juarez Moreira was born in Guanhães in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1954. He taught himself to play guitar at the age of 12 by listening to popular Brazilian music, Classical music and Jazz. When he was 16, he moved to Belo Horizonte where he attended high school and college.
Moreira's first professional break came in 1978 when he began playing with acclaimed pianist Wagner Tiso and his group. Over the years he has performed with many other well-known musicians including Milton Nascimento, Maria Bethânia, Lô Borges, Toninho Horta and Paulo Moura.
Quite a few top Brazilian musicians have recorded Moreira's compositions, notably Toninho Horta who recorded "Diamond Land" (Diamantina) on his 1988 Verve Forecast release of the same tiltle.
In 1989 he won the annual Fiat Music Competition with contestants from the entire country. In 1991, Juarez was chosen to perform at the Free Jazz Festival in Rio de Janeiro, the largest amd most prestigious jazz festival in Brazil.
Moreira has three CDs released only in Brazil: "Nuvens Douradas" – a CD interpreting Jobim; "Aquarelas" – a song book of composer Ari Barrosos's work recorded with saxophonist Nivaldo Ornelas and the Chamber Orchestra Sesiminas; and "Samblues" – which features an impressive lineup of guest musicians. His first US and international release, "Bom Dia" (Good Morning), was released in 1998 by Malandro Records.