Concert Review: Eliane Elias at The City Winery on April 1, 2015
by Maja Rios
The day
before her performance in Chicago. Eliane Elias’ Made in Brazil, came out on March 31,
which marks the first time the Grammy-nominated pianist/keyboardist/singer/
Made in Brazil
focuses on three different eras of Brazilian music beginning with two
compositions from the 1930s written by Ary Barroso (a composer first
popularized by Carmen Miranda), moving to Bossa nova with music written by
Antonio Carlos Jobim and Roberto Menescal in the ‘60s and ‘70s , then traveling
through the evolution of Brazilian pop music and the modern music of today,
represented by six of Eliane’s compositions.
Made in Brazil
also features Take 6, guitarist/vocalist Roberto Menescal and vocalists Mark
Kibble and Ed Motta, with seven orchestral arrangements by Rob Mathes recorded
at Abbey Road Studios.
At the
performance, at the Chicago City Winery Brazilian pianist/signer Eliane Elias
was a real treat. Consisting of Eliane
on piano and vocals, longtime music partner/husband Marc Johnson on acoustic bass and
two Brazilian musicians on guitar and drums, Eliane sashayed through terrific, tight,
arrangements of jazz standards (musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be standards changes over time. Songs included in major fake book publications (sheet music collections of popular tunes) and jazz reference works offer a rough guide to which songs are considered standards). and Brazilian bossa nova (a genre of Brazilian music, which developed and was popularized in the 1950s and '60s and is today one of the best-known Brazilian music genres abroad. The phrase bossa nova means literally "new trend") and samba (a Brazilian musical genre and dance style originating in Brazil, with its roots in Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions, particularly Angola and the Congo).
Her light,
airy vocals, similar in many ways to Brazilian singer Astreed Gilberto, was a
perfect compliment to her outstanding piano playing, which was both energetic and
at the same time never over-powering.
She opened
her set with an up-tempo instrumental samba by Gilberto Gil, and then sang a
great rendition of "Chega de Saudade" which she said was one of the song that launched bossa nova worldwide.
Backed up
by authentic Brazilian Bossa guitar
playing, I was totally transported back to Rio de Janeiro, 1958, when the tune
was written.
Next she
song a jazz standard. "I thought about you"
bass with a great samba flair. She mentioned
that the song was from her album of the same name (I thought about), which is a
tribute to the American jazz trumpet/vocalist Chet Baker.
The remainder
of her set, consisted of mostly vocals of classic bossas like “So Danço Samba”, “Desifinado”, “Brasil (Aquarela do Brasil) ”, and a few originals “Butterfly” an instrumental
which she co-wrote with Marc Johnson.
And an lesser known tune by Brazilian composer Miniscao on “Você”.
She
sang a great rendition of “Embraceable You”, as a slow bossa, but frequently
she mentioned laryngitis, though I could not tell, as she very whispering
tone.
Toward the
end of the set, she changed tempos to a funk beat which I feels reflects her
versatility as a pianist.
My favorite
part of her performance was when she got up to sing with the trio, as she
danced around the club in a tight black dress and heels.
She called
herself “The Blonde Morena” {which means dark) as she sung a tune, Rosa by Jobim’s favorite compose, Dorival Cayimmi
from Bahia via the very cool venue of City Winery for the evening.
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