Tania Maria :Viva Maria

VIVA MARIA!

Tania Maria gives Brazilian roots a twist
by Marshall Bowden

For anyone who may have missed Tania Maria's first two releases on Concord's Piquant label, they are now handily available as a 2-Disc set entitled Viva Maria. Born in Brazil, Tania is a pianist and singer who has absorbed the many musical influences of that country as well as those of Europe and the U.S. Whether playing fiery samba, tranquil bossa, funky NYC groove, or any other style, she maintains a style that is unique and instantly recognizable.

Initially Tania learned to play piano in order to jam with her father-a metalworker, guitarist, and singer-in his weekend jam sessions. Influenced by Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughn, Anita O'Day, Tom Jobim, and Milton Nascimento, she learned to combine the rhythms of Brazilian music with the energy of Caribbean salsa and fuse it all with the improvisational nature of American jazz. After a frustrating attempt to launch a musical career in Sao Paulo and Rio, Tania moved to Paris in 1974. Discovered and brought to Washinton, D. C. to perform by guitarist and Brazilian music interpreter Charlie Byrd, Tania was initially signed by Concord Records.

While Maria has developed her voice and sings quite well, she thinks of herself primarily as a pianist. Playing with quick precision and a sharp, percussive attack, she often scats along with her improvisations, much the way George Benson became known for doing. "The first person that I heard that did this was a Brazilian, Sivuca, and he did this with the accordion, the same thing that George Benson does with his guitar", she says. " So I was thinking, it they can do it with the accordion and guitar, why can't I do it with the piano? For me it's so easy in one way it's my trademark. You know somehow that Tania Maria is passing by!" Her scat work is also incomparable, combining elements of Portuguese, English, and typical jazz scat syllables. Though quick and percussive, no one can evoke the cool, romantic rhythms of bossa or convey the passion behind a torchy ballad better than Maria can.

Piquant, her first U.S. release (though far from her first recording) was released in 1981 and produced by Latin jazz great Cal Tjader. It opens with the sharp original "Yatra-Ta", featuring plenty of hot percussion, and much more of an Afro-Cuban groove than many Brazilian music fans may expect. Maria often tosses the traditional Brazilian bossa/samba instrumentation overboard, preferring instead to load her sound with congas, bongos, and timbales. Over this percussive explosion her piano soars high, adding not only melody but also additional percussion to the mix. Maria shows she can handle the more downtempo material as well, following the opener with classic ballads "It's Not For Me To Say" and a cover of Jobim's "Triste", on which her piano provides the subtle rhythmic punch peculiar to bossa and usually reserved for the guitar. Then it's back to full-tilt Latin punch with "Chiclete Com Banana", "Lemon Cuica", and "Super Happy"-all composed by Maria herself. The album closer, "Vem P'ra Roda", another Maria composition, is transcendent, combining percussive piano, hand claps and Maria's amazing scat vocals on a track that sometimes recalls Chick Corea, other times veering into something of a Horace Silver soul-jazz groove. When the disc ends, you want to hear more right away, and that's why this two-disc set is so great.

Taurus, Maria's second Concord recording, does feature some quieter, more pastoral tracks of exquisite beauty, but there's plenty of heat here as well. The original composition that leads off the album is entitled "Tranquility", but the number is anything but a quiet, reflective piece. Fueled by Maria's superb vocals and piano work as well as some nice conga work, the piece is smooth but no without energy. She next pulls of a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine" that is quite surprising. After performing the song in a fairly straightforward manner (with very melodic piano breaks) she breaks into a quicker, celebratory samba groove that is a real revelation, especially remembering that this was recorded less than a year after Lennon's untimely death. Another standout is the tranquil instrumental "2 A.M.", which is achingly beautiful and conveys the peace and calm of the wee hours of the morning better than any song since Guys and Dolls' "My Time of Day." The closing track, "Eruption" burns and rocks like a Santana jam with Maria's piano taking the place of Carlos' transcendent guitar work over percussion that'll have you burning like a habanera salsa.

Those beguiled by these albums would do well to check out her third Concord release, The Real Tania Maria: WILD! as well as her latest, Viva Brazil. The former features a hot band and contains live renditions of some of her best material, while the latest concentrates on Tania's stylings of the musical forms of her homeland. You really can't go wrong with any of these discs, so be sure to check Tania Maria out!