Tania Maria Viva Brazil Quartet

Brazilian pianist, singer, and composer Tania Maria released her first album 37 years ago and has been improvising ever since, gently mixing Brazilian rhythms, funk, rhythm and blues, and Afro-Cuban motifs. She demonstrates her unique perspective on music, comfortably crossing genre and tradition boundaries, winning popularity among an ever-growing audience. Tania's talent cannot be fully appreciated just by listening to her albums; it must be seen live on stage where she improvises freely and performs scat.
Tania Maria Correa Reis was born into a family of amateur musicians. At the age of seven, she began taking piano lessons, urged on by her father. According to Tania, he inspired her to choose a musical career and provided her with both the necessary skills and faith in herself. At just thirteen, Tania won an award at a regional competition as part of a group led by her father. For a time, she studied law, but her passion prevailed. Tania began performing in clubs in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. She was a fan of Brazilian pianist Luiz Eça, who gained fame in the early '60s with his Tamba Trio playing swing and bossa nova. Her know-how was that she made bossa nova a bit rougher and brighter, which matched her passionate temperament. That's how she conquered the audience.
Tania left Brazil in 1974: 'It was during a military dictatorship. I was performing music with a strong jazz accent, which Brazilians didn't understand. They didn't see the point in performing music from the States when they could perform purely Brazilian songs. But jazz lifted me up, made me free.' After moving to Paris, Tania made a name for herself in Europe. Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, who at the time was the only American performing bossa nova, took notice of her sparkling style and good sales. Charlie recommended her to Concord Jazz, where Tania released her ninth album by then, featuring many successful hits, the most famous of which became Come With Me. Many years later, Tania, known for her deep voice, percussive piano playing style, and ability to harmoniously combine samba with hip-hop and funk, stands among the truly great talents of the modern Brazilian scene. About her playing style, Tania says: 'For me, the piano is a percussion instrument. My teacher also said I played incorrectly, too choppily. But it just happens that way for me; maybe it reflects my origin and temperament. Although I've lived in Europe for 32 years, my heart remains Brazilian.'
With the release of her 26th album, Intimidade, Tania showcased her talent both as a composer and as an outstanding improviser, able to perform even one of the most famous songs on earth - Besame Mucho - in an original way. This is a reminiscence, the rhythms of her childhood, music with a rich past. For Tania, it was a challenge, a chance to travel into her past and view it through the lens of her current experience. And apparently, the memories are very warm, as she named the album after this (intimidade translates to intimacy, closeness, connection - ed.). 'By closeness in this case, I don't mean sex. Closeness is a part of love. People are not as romantic as they were in my childhood; we are losing the tradition of beautiful courting. Everything revolves around sex - music, films, television. In this chaos, I want to remind people of the charm of intimacy through music.'
It's worth trusting this lady and relaxing to the sounds of her fiery mix; it will reveal to listeners the secrets of true intimacy and love.