Tania

Tania León - Indígena, Parajota Delaté, Rituál, A la Par, Batéy (1994)
Classical | EAC: FLAC+Cue+Log | 1 Cd, Covers | 203 Mb
Label: CRI - Date: 1994

Tania León (born May 14, 1943 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban composer and conductor who has been recognized as an educator and advisor to arts organizations. In 1998 she was awarded the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has received Honorary Doctorates from Colgate University and Oberlin College and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYSCA, Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Fund, ASCAP and Koussevitzky Foundation, among others. In 1998 she held the Fromm Residency at the American Academy in Rome.

The eleven pieces on this CD of piano music by Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León were composed across a span of almost fifty years, from student works (Rondó a la Criolla, Homenaje a Prokofiew, Preludes 1 and 2) written in the mid-1960s when León was doing post-graduate work at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in the municipio of Marianao, La Habana, to going…gone, the brilliant reworking of Sondheim’s “Good Things Going” she crafted in 2012.

Tania Maria is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English. Her music is mostly vocal, sometimes pop, often jazzy, and unmistakably Brazilian. Whether playing fiery samba,tranquil bossa,Afro-Latin, Pop and Jazz fusion, or any other style, she maintains a style that is uniquely her own. Her vibrant voice, brilliant piano work and outstanding performances have made an artist of increasing international popularity.

Tania Maria - Come With Me
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 2,58 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 826 MB | Artwork
Label/Cat#: Concord "Picante" # SACD-1002-6 | Country/Year: 2003, 1982 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Jazz | Style: Vocal, Latin

"In the early '80s, Tânia Maria burst upon the U.S. music scene, playing an exuberant blend of Brazilian pop and jazz. Her first few recordings for Concord Picante (of which Come with Me is the third) remain her most rewarding sets. Maria's spirited vocals and hyper keyboard work star throughout the date (which finds her interpreting seven of her originals and "Embraceable You"), supported by a sextet including both Eddie Duran and José Neto on guitar. Worth checking out." ~AMG

Jusqu'en 1945, leurs pères étaient des héros. Après la défaite allemande, ils sont devenus des bourreaux. Gudrun, Edda, Niklas et les autres sont les enfants de Himmler, Göring, Hess, Frank, Bormann, Höss, Speer et Mengele.
Ces petits Allemands ont vécu la Seconde Guerre mondiale en privilégiés, entourés par des parents affectueux et tout-puissants. Pour eux, la chute du Reich a été un coup de tonnerre. Innocents et inconscients des crimes paternels, ils en ont alors découvert toute l'étendue. …

The eleven pieces on this CD of piano music by Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León were composed across a span of almost fifty years, from student works (Rondó a la Criolla, Homenaje a Prokofiew, Preludes 1 and 2) written in the mid-1960s when León was doing post-graduate work at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in the municipio of Marianao, La Habana, to going…gone, the brilliant reworking of Sondheim’s “Good Things Going” she crafted in 2012…

Tania Maria's debut is a mix of hushed bossa numbers and up-tempo, jazz-inflected sambas that show off the prowess of her nine-piece band. "Zé," which belongs to the latter category, is an original tune that begins with Maria's slightly over-the-top scatting and builds into a kickin' samba jam; on "Para Chick," a Tom Jobim instrumental, the group is at its most improvisational, with Maria herself (on piano) dishing out some fine solos; and on the tempo-shifting "Ideias E Ideias," Maria manages to sound like Astrud Gilberto and Ella Fitzgerald within the span of a few chord changes. Though it's heavy on the standard bossa/samba fare, it's also a uniformly solid album and a fine introduction to Maria's catalog.

Tempo is a delectable album by Brazilian pianist, singer and composer Tania Maria and Puerto Rican bassist Eddie Gomez. Tempo mixes lively Brazilian choro and samba rhythms with intimate jazz and blues. Tania Maria is a masterful pianist and also has a recognizable sultry voice. On Tempo she performs a combination of captivating original instrumentals and songs as well as pieces by well-known Brazilian composers such as Jobim and Roberto Carlos. On the instrumental pieces, Maria and Gomez have the opportunity to demonstrate their technical ability with ingenious improvisations.

Tania Maria's second Concord release (which, as with her other output, has been reissued on CD) is still one of her best sets. The repertoire - five of her originals, "Imagine," and "Cry Me a River" is diverse; the band (a sextet with two percussionists and guitarist Eddie Duran) is excellent and there is plenty of space for Maria's keyboard work in addition to her exuberant vocals. Throughout the set of Brazilian jazz-pop, Tania Maria is heard in prime form, making this an excellent introduction to her enthusiastic music.