Brazilian vocalist Monica Vasconcelos and her band Nois were expected to be a major event in Komedia's worldbeat month and they didn't disappoint.

The nine-piece line-up contains enough variety to please fans of jazz, Latin or anyone up for a night's dancing.

The major presence on stage is Monica herself, who is a charismatic band leader with a voice that has an instantly-recognisable and appealing quality.

At one point, she was able to pack the dance floor in seconds with just her voice accompanied by congas and agogo.

The quality evident throughout the band came through in the bright, peppery arrangements, whether standards or one of many originals.

Nois, which means us in Brazilian Portuguese, is a group of musicians from Brazil, England, Germany, Italy and Mozambique who share a passion for Brazilian music.

The international pedigree added authenticity to the baiao, maracatu and choro as well as the more familiar sambas and bossas of which Volte Para O Seu Lar and Samba Da Ponte were high points.

Much of the drive came from the team of Ian Pattinson on kit drums and hard-working percussionist Adriano Pinto.

The horns comprised three individually excellent performers, all with strong backgrounds in both jazz and Latin music.

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock performed mostly on soprano, with occasional funky alto additions, alongside Paul Jayasinha's blisteringly-high trumpet blasts.

Noted trombonist and arranger Paul Nieman, a veteran of sessions for Gil Evans, Stan Tracey and Brian Eno, added some particularly juicy solos.

Founder member Steve Lodder is one of several to write for Nois and is already popular from his work with many bands alongside Andy Sheppard.

Lodder's keyboards contributed hugely to the texture, particularly his wild organ solos. One of these appeared on a diversion from the latin style, an imaginative reworking of Bobby McFerrin's Thinkin' About Your Body into sleazy funk.

A Brazilian star in his own right is acoustic guitarist Ife Tolentino, who co-wrote many of the tunes with Monica; he and bassist Davide Mantovani were virtuoso performers.

Perhaps Monica could arrange for Brighton to be twinned with Brasilia after the enthusiastic response prompted her to trill: "Brighton is the coolest place."

The audience weren't satisfied with the encore, Mudanca, and needed a percussion-driven frevo and a reprise of Ata Baque. Like me, they will be looking forward to a return visit.