From her hometown of Poços de Caldas, Brazil, where she ran a music school, Fabiana Passoni pulled up stakes for New York City, where she cultivated a sound fusing classic-style jazz singing with bossa nova beats. Later she moved to Los Angeles, where she began recording.
But when asked why she chose Oceanside in which to settle down and raise her triplets, the 2012 Brazilian International Press Awards winner for Best Brazilian Female Singer Living in the U.S. invokes a mixture of pragmatics and love for sand plus surf.
“We used to live in Orange County and had outgrown our home,” she says. “We found the rents more attractive in Oceanside and some great-looking neighborhoods. I like living in Oceanside so far. My neighbors are friendly and I can still feel that ocean breeze. I’m feeling right at home already...there is a large group of Brazilians living in the beach areas there. Anthology and Belly Up attract Brazilian performers at times. I still don’t know much about what takes place here in Oceanside. It will be fun to explore the musical and artistic scenes in Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas.”
After her 2007 album É Minha Vez, Passoni was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she subsequently managed to beat. Her next full-length Naturalmente Brasil was released in 2011.