Tania Maria
b. 9 May 1948, São Luis, Maranhao, Brazil. An excellent pianist, powerful singer and enchanting live performer, Tania Maria combines in her staccato vocal style the rhythmic virtues of bebop and Latin dance, with a strong commitment to spontaneity. She learned classical piano at first, discovered the work of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Oscar Peterson, and moved to Paris in 1974. Maria's vitality won her a contract at a Paris nightclub for a three-month residency, and she stayed in the city for the next seven years, recording several albums that emphasized her Brazilian roots. She played the 1975 Newport Jazz Festival opposite Sarah Vaughan, was encouraged by the guitarist Charlie Byrd, and in 1981 she recorded PIQUANT for the USA label Concord, moved to the USA and began to develop a successful recording career there. Live recordings have captured her essence best (1984's WILD! is one of her most impressive), and recent commercial funk outings have obscured her originality and vividness, but her concert performances still reveal an artist of energy, musicality and originality. NO COMMENT is relaxing and smooth whilst exploring the outer fringes of dance and funk. A lyric sheet is not required to appreciate her work, merely an open mind and open ears.