Tania Maria (born May 9, 1948) is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English. Her Brazilian-style music is mostly vocal, sometimes pop, often

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

y, and includes

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

, bossa, Afro-Latin, pop and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

Biography

Born in

São Luís, Maranhão São Luís (, ''Saint Louis'') is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Upaon-açu Island (Big Island, in Tupi Language) or Ilha de São Luís (''Saint Louis' Island''), in the Baía de São Ma ...

, Brazil, Tania Maria began playing the piano at the age of seven, became a leader at the age of 13, when her band of professional musicians, organized by her father, won first prize in a local music contest and went on to play for dances, in clubs and on the radio. Her father, a metal worker and a gifted guitarist and singer, had encouraged her to study piano so that she could play in his weekend jam sessions, where she first absorbed the rhythms and melodies of samba, jazz, pop music and Brazilian chorinho. Since then, she has never worked in anyone else's group. She has a degree in law, married early and had children. Maria's first album, ''Apresentamos'' (''We Present''), was released in Brazil in 1969, followed by ''Olha Quem Chega'' (''Look Who's Here!'') in 1971, but it was a move to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France, in 1974 that exploded her onto the international scene. At a concert in Australia, her formidable musical precision and freewheeling spirit caught the attention of the late American guitarist,

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba'', ...

, who recommended her to the late Carl Jefferson, founder of

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists hav ...

. Tania's 1983 album ''Come With Me'' started her international breakthrough with the title song becoming a 1980s dance-floor classic that has since been covered frequently. A year later, in 1984, her ''Love Explosion'' album contained the track ''Deep Cove View'' which was promoted by

Robbie Vincent Robbie Vincent (born 9 June 1947) is an English radio broadcaster and DJ. As a champion of jazz, funk and soul music in the UK during the late 1970s he made an important contribution both live in clubs and on radio. In 1995 he was voted Independ ...

on his late Sunday night soul shows on Radio 1. The 1985 album ''Made in New York'' increased her popularity further worldwide. Maria has played virtually every important

jazz festival This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world. Historic jazz festivals Jazz festivals by country The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note. Africa Angol ...

in the world and has appeared on countless television and radio programmes. She has recorded more than 25 albumsTania Maria
''Nova Concerts International'', April 12, 2012. and in 1985 was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in the category " Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female". She has performed at venues such as the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

and festivals including the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

in 1981, 1983 and 1989, Saratoga Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Fest 1991,

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hi ...

in 1975, Puerto Rico Heineken Jazzfest 2001,

Malta Jazz Festival The Malta Jazz Festival is an annual musical event held every July in Malta, organised by Festivals Malta (previously part of Arts Council Malta and the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts). It is held outside Church of Our Lady of Liesse, Our ...

2003 at

Maltese Islands Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, Novosadski Jazz Festival 2004, Belgium's

Jazz Middelheim Jazz Middelheim is an annual summer jazz festival in Antwerp, Belgium. The first festival took place in 1969 as a jazz promenade in the Middelheim Park. 2010 The 2010 edition presented Toots Thielemans, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, ...

2007. She performed at the annual

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival wa ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

in 1978 and has returned there at least 10 times. She has played with such as

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

, Anthony Jackson,

Sammy Figueroa Sammy Figueroa (born November 16, 1948, The Bronx, New York) is an American percussionist. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces. Selected Discography Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

Discography

Albums

Filmography

* 2008 ''Tanya Maria: The Beat of Brazil'' with

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

References

External links

* – broken link
archived taniamaria.net 2005archived taniamaria.org 2017

Tania Maria
at

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

* * – at the

North Sea Jazz festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival wa ...