Eliane Elias
b. 19 March 1960, São Paulo, Brazil. Before she reached the age of 21, Elias has attracted considerable attention, not only for her keyboard playing but also as a teacher of jazz music. In the early '80s she moved to New York, joined the Brecker Brothers jazz/rock group, Steps Ahead, with whom she remained until 1984 and thereafter recorded and toured extensively. She continued to play and record with Randy Brecker, whom she married, and has also recorded with Jack DeJohnette, Nana Vasconcelos and Eddie Gomez (upon whose advice she first tried her luck in the USA). Although a gifted and interesting pianist, Elias has not completely fulfilled her early promise to become a major figure on the contempoary jazz scene.