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Tania Maria

Tania Maria - Pianist, Singer, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader Internationally renowned for her exhilarating vocals and keyboard artistry, Tania Maria's music is a stylish combination of jazz, funk, Afro-Cuban elements, and the popular music of her native Brazil. She has created an eclectic fusion that is her own unique brand of jazz and appeals to audiences around the world. Maria’s raw alto has set her apart in the jazz world, her voice sounding sometimes bossa songstress, sometimes Brazilian soul singer. Tania Maria was born in Sao Luis in the north of Brazil, in the heart of a family who practiced music with great enthusiasm. She quickly became sensitive to Brazilian tempo and rhythm. Beginning the piano at the age of 7, she finds herself six years later as the leader of a band who wins first prize in a local contest. She developed her own masterful synthesis of what she heard an effervescent style of piano work and rapid-tongued vocals in arrangements that fuse Brazilian rhythms and Caribbean salsa with the improvised expression that is the heart of American jazz. Although 6 years of classical study underlie her solid piano technique, Tania Maria's highly praised vocal skills came naturally, "I'm Brazilian", she says, "and singing is the greatest tradition we have!". Well known for ebullient scat singing, she identifies herself primarily as a pianist. "I play percussion on my piano", she explains, rather than smooth runs up and down scales. And she often scats in unison or harmony with the notes that flow from her touch, soaring beyond the constraints of words. Tania Maria's first album “Olha Quem Chega,” was released in Brazil in 1971, but it was a move to France in the late 1970’s that exploded Tania onto the international scene, bringing her to the attention of Concord Records. At a concert in Australia, her formidable musical precision and freewheeling spirit caught the attention of the late American guitarist, Charlie Byrd, who recommended her to the late Carl Jefferson, founder of Concord Records. A move to New York followed and in 1983 she released the album “Come with Me” on Concord Records. The title track of which became a huge international smash hit, and is still played in soul and jazz clubs all over Europe, Japan and America. Tania is an extraordinary improviser best known for her fiery interpretation of Brazilian, Afro-Latin, Pop and Jazz Fusion, in a style that is uniquely her own.

Tania Maria: Tempo

Read "Tempo" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 31, 2012

EstateSei calda come i baci che ho perdutoSei piena di un amore che è passatoChe il cuore mio vorrebbe cancellare. Brazilian pianist/singer Tania Maria is the product of warm and humid climes. Born in Sao Luis in the northwestern part of the country, she emerged into the musical intersection where the bossa of Brazil rubs up against the salsa of the Caribbean. All influences are in evidence on Maria's opening performance ...

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Album Review

Tania Maria: Intimidade

Read "Intimidade" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
August 12, 2006

Now in her late 50s, Tania Maria Correa Reis continues to bring all the energy and zip to her performances that she did when she recorded her first album in 1971. 26 albums later, she's still Brazil's queen of the funky jazz samba. Her welcome combination of lively rhythms and sultry ballads brings the versatile program on Intimidade into our hearts from several perspectives. We get uplifting melodies, warm harmony, lively rhythms and a personal look at the artist, still ...

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Album Review

Tania Maria: Tania Maria Live At the Blue Note

Read "Tania Maria Live At the Blue Note" reviewed by AAJ Staff

by AAJ Staff
April 19, 2002

If Tania Maria Live At The Blue Note is the first Tania Maria album you hear I quarantee that less than eight bars into it you'll be wondering what took you so long. You will also discover that Tania Maria is a unique, wonderfully alive, mega talent who cannot really be put in any single jazz pidgeon hole. This native of Brazil treats her listeners to Brazilian Samba and bossa nova, but it doesn't end there. Tania Maria blends funk, ...

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Album Review

Tania Maria: Live At The Blue Note

by Jim Santella
March 1, 2002

Singing in Portuguese & English, and hop-scotching her way around wordless vocals, Tania Maria takes a ton of built-in, high-voltage energy with her everywhere she goes. From Northern Brazil, she's lived in Europe and the U.S., while gaining popularity for her unique style. Samba and romantic dance blend naturally with her perky piano and syncopated vocal offerings. She's performed all over the world for some 30 years now. This recent performance of Tania Maria and the Viva Brazil Quartet comes ...

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Album Review

Tania Maria: Viva Brazil

by AAJ Staff
November 1, 2000

Want to know how to say “wow" in Portuguese? Try Tania Maria. That says it all.

On her new CD titled “Viva Brazil", Tania Maria returns--musically at least--to her native Brazil. She combines her original compositions with some of the best known Brazilian classics. Her interpretation of “Sebastiana" is second to none. And there is her stunning arrangement of “One Note Samba". She slows the normally jumpy tempo to a sultry ballad and the result is magic.

Then there are ...

Recording

Tania Maria: 'Canto'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 30, 2013

I'm not sure why singer-songwriter-pianist Tania Maria has just released a CD in the States of tracks recorded in 2005 and 2008, but it really doesn't matter. Her work on Canto is superb, sensual and beckoning. Maria remains largely unknown to many jazz fans in the U.S.—despite her powerful, robust voice, her syncopated jazz piano style and her intoxicating melodic compositions. My guess is it's the “female artist" thing. Many jazz fans still tend to view women players as a ...
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Recording

Tania Maria - Tempo (2012)

Source: Something Else!
January 26, 2012

One of Brazil's brightest performers of the last three decades, Tania Maria led a band by the age of 13, and has a distinctively exuberant vocal and percussive piano style as part of her wide skill set. An international pop star since the 1980's, she's probably best known for her worldwide pop hit song “Come With Me," but she's also prominent in the world of jazz. She's accomplished enough as a pianist to dazzle even when going on-on-one with a ...
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