Juliana Areias

Areias was born in São Paulo and exposed to music from a young age.^[1] As a teenager, Areias met Ruy Castro, a journalist known for documenting much of the early Bossa nova movement. She attributes Castro and her direct exposure to the movement as her inspiration to become a singer. It was also Castro who originally gave her the nickname "The Bossa Nova Baby." She was also introduced to musicians such as Ronaldo Bôscoli and Luiz Eça.^[3] She moved to Switzerland at the age of 21 to pursue her career as a singer-songwriter.^[3]

Areias lived in Europe and New Zealand in her early career.^[4] During that time she performed at major music festivals and toured internationally. She performed at events including Montreux Jazz Festival, Auckland Festival, and American's Cup in New Zealand.^[1] In addition to touring and performing, Areias was the Brazilian Music Expert and research assistant for the University of Auckland's "Freesamba Project"^[5] and recorded for Brazilian poet and composer Márcio Catunda between 1997 and 2010. She was featured on six of his albums including Anima Lirica (1997), Crescente (2000), Mistica Beleza (2003), Itineraria Sentimental (2008), Agua de Flores (2009) and O Jardineiro da Vida (2010).^[1]

Areias moved to Perth in 2009.^[1] In 2014, she performed consecutive sold-out shows in Australia, leading up to the release of her debut album.^[6] In 2015, Areias released Bossa Nova Baby, her first original album which she recorded with jazz musicians including Doug de Vries, Pete Jeavons, Graham Wood, Ray Walker, Marcio Mendes, Chris Tarr, and Paul Millard.^[1] The album contains 12 songs, all of which were influenced by the places she has lived and traveled.^[7] The album was funded by a successful crowdfunding campaign on the Australian crowdfund site Pozible and was also sponsored by the Department of Culture and the Arts of Western Australia.^[8][9]

After releasing the album, Areias performed at a sold-out launch concert for the album at the Ellington Jazz Club in Perth. She then performed nationally, giving performances at the Sydney Opera House and Perth International Jazz Festival.^[10] The album received air play on radio stations throughout Australia, Brazil, Europe, and the United States.^[10][11]