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TANIA MARIA

BIOGRAPHY

Brazilian pianist, singer and composer Tania Maria has nurtured a long and passionate love affair with music. Since the release of her first album in her native land 37 years ago, the vivacious musician has treated the world to a non-stop aural fiesta, serving up steaming portions of her piquant blend of festive Brazilian rhythms and daring improvisations, brimming with R&B, funk and Afro-Cuban flavors. With the release of her 26th album, Intimidade on Blue Note Records, she demonstrates once again her ability to craft a highly personal music vision with universal appeal – a sound that cuts across all stylistic, ethnic and generational barriers with ease, conquering new fans along the way.

Born Tania Maria Correa Reis into a family of amateur musicians in São Luís, a remote, historic port city in northwestern Brazil, she began formal study of the piano at the age of seven. Just six years later, she had established a name for herself in the music world as leader of a band that won first prize in a regional music competition. After a brief respite from music to study law, her fingers continued to yearn for the piano, and she finally gave in to its insistent call, committing herself to music with more fervor than ever.

Having outgrown the limited opportunities to expand her music horizons in provincial São Luís, Tania thrust herself into the burgeoning club scene in Brazil’s two largest metropolitan centers, cosmopolitan São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Deeply influenced by Brazilian pianist Luiz Eça, who had led his Tamba Trio to fame in the early 1960s performing Brazil’s swinging new bossa nova style, Tania dazzled club patrons with her robust interpretation of bossa standards. But within a short time, she realized that the deck was stacked against female instrumentalists in the notoriously macho culture of her homeland, and departed for greener pastures in Europe.

From the outset, her first musical performances clearly showed her potential and her predilections for an astounding mix of Brazilian rhythms and jazz harmonies and a remarkable natural gift for creating sophisticated, enticing melodies. A successful tenure in Paris in the 1970s established her reputation throughout Europe and led to collaborations with such noted artists as bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen. Her effervescent style and prolific recording output caught the attention of American jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, one of the first non Brazilians to perform bossa nova, who recommended her to the Concord Jazz label. Her nine albums for Concord produced a string of popular successes, including the mega hit “Come With Me.“ Many years later, Tania continues to stand out as one of the truly great talents on the contemporary Brazilian music scene, known for her unmistakable sultry voice, her percussive touch at the piano, and her ability to spontaneously combine such venerable Brazilian rhythms as choro and samba with the urban styles of our time – hip-hop and funk.

On Intimidade (“Intimacy”), Tania brilliantly combines both sides of her musical personality, which are symbolized by two of her backup musicians – legendary jazz bassist Eddie Gomez and master Brazilian percussionist Mestre Carneiro. The album’s 10 tracks reflect a broad range of stylistic interests, ranging from her own highly distinctive original works to handpicked gems that include one of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa classics, “Agua De Beber,” and Mexican bolero composer Consuelo Velasquez’s immortal love ballad “Besame Mucho.”

"There’s nothing sexual about it,“ Tania says of the album’s title track. “It’s just sensual! All artists have a very intimate relationship with their instrument, and for musicians, intimacy is the moment of composition when you question yourself, when you are filled with wonderment and sometimes feel frustrated because you can’t find the right path. Intimidade also means opening yourself up to others and conveying your passion to them.”

That’s precisely what she does on the song “Evocação.” Performed in the jaunty frevo style from Brazil’s northeast, the tune was composed more than 50 years ago by Nelson Ferreira. Tania explains that while on a recent trip to Brazil, she saw for the first time the mighty San Francisco River that cuts through the heart of the country. “I thought of that, what we Brazilians call ‘The River of Unity,’ when I decided to revive this song. Except that in my head, I imagined a kind of organic trip-hop with incredibly brilliant responses from Eddie Gomez.”

For her own song “Ayé,” Tania wrote lyrics that explore another side of Intimidade. “The words speak of seduction,” she comments. “Ayé can also be understood as a moan, almost orgasmic. As for the music, it’s an entirely personal variation on bossa, but with more complicated rhythms. Nevertheless, it’s a moment of great bliss!”

Indeed, Intimidade casts a blissful spell throughout. Fiery and complex one moment, serene and inviting the next, Tania Maria once again proves her total mastery of many moods. “I chose this title for the album,“ she adds, “because, either between the lines or more overtly, all the songs evoke my native Brazil.”

© 2005 Blue Note Records