Eliane Elias Music

The inner mood in which Eliane Elias approachs to the Brazilian sound is simply absorbing . She plays music with refined commitment and expressive fineness , she never lets a sound free of articulation considering the music as great puzzle in which every little bar is essential for getting the right tone and the precise color .
Acquire this CD and convince by yourself about this wonderful achievement of this brazilian artist.

The music on this CD is a spiritual experience!
Eliane Elias is a truly unique jazz pianist. Her sensitivity is at the highest level possible. On each song she takes the listener through a journey into another dimension, where music is a direct link to the soul, to the most intimate, passionate, sensitive, evocative moments of existence. This CD is the best of her many excellent outings. SHe is always at home with her native Brrasiliasn music. "Paulistana" is the word in Brasilian for a native of the city of Sao Paulo, where she was born. This is one of the most special albums of improvised music ever made.
The accompanists on this album are superb- Marc Johnson and Peter Erskine, Jack Dejohnette and Eddie Gomez.
I cannot ask for better or more meaningful music....
(...)
Other great CD's by Elias are: "Everything I Love" and "Fantasia"
gklabin@mindspring.com (12/02)

Elaine Elias redoes Jobim SO WELL. Just the thing to play when you're a bit down or having dinner with your baby, and every song sounds fresh every time you play it. And the piano playing is sublime.

GET THIS ALBUM.

Whoever told Ms. Elias that she should sing MUST have been pulling
her lovely leg. While no one who knows music, esp. jazz, would
question her instrumental chops, singing should be left to those
whose years of training and dues-paying performance work has
resulted in audience-worthy renditions of great and memorable
tunes.
Hasn't anyone noticed that the American Idol wannabe's, when they
flunk their auditions, will argue tooth-and-nail that they are
"great singers"? They don't have the talent to become recorded
singers. Neither does Ms. Elias, despite her pianistic expertise.

Elias' strength here--as in all her albums--is her keyboard work; very few match her command of the instrument, her intensity, fluency and arranging of the Jobim songbook. Notwithstanding the superb blending with her accompanists, her vocals are the most disappointing. Were this a purely instrumental CD, this would be an easy A+. Sounding more tentative than confident, the vocals are barely audible, and at times, incoherent, making this a frustrating listen for me--like the gnats that ruin an otherwise marvelous summer picnic, I keep swatting at the vocals! The two exceptions being the guitar/vocal interplay with Castro-Neves on "Falando de Amor" and "One Note Samba." Otherwise, musicianship is what carries the album: fine accompaniment, great arrangements, forgettable vocals!

Eliane Elias put together a terrific band, including Michael Brecker, Oscar Castro-Neves (producer as well) and Marc Johnson to make this outstanding recording.

It's an elegant, classy, swinging album of Johim favorites that just doesn't have any weaknesses. Elias' singing and piano playing are especially beautiful on the ballads, but she and her band also really swing and groove on the uptempo tunes.

If you're a fan of the Brasilian genre you must own this side. If you want a great album to help set a romantic mood, this is one to have. Or, if you're a jazz fan, interested in all idioms of the music, it's a contemporary essential.

This is a romantic album! Elias' vocals are smooth, and her piano playign skills are second to none on a jazz level. These are fine verisons of bossa novas classics. Her piano and vocals both swing, yet so gently. Great music!

Deciding to record some unaccompanied music, the lovely Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias put out this superb instrumental CD. Solos and Duets is entirely jazz piano, made up of solo pieces performed by Eliane and her duets with jazz legend Herbie Hancock. The sound is really more like jazz/classical, for it does have a classical texture altho with the spontaneity and other elements of jazz. Indeed, Eliane plays the chords, but the better part for me is all the free-flowing piano notes, very pretty. The music ranges between straightforward interpretations of song structures and complete improvisation.

The songs on which Herbie and Eliane team up are the strongest. They are "Just Enough," penned by Eliane, and two lengthy numbers: Herbie's composition "The Way You Look Tonight" and the four-part improvisation "Messages," which they jointly wrote. Eliane's solo-performed tunes were written by a variety of other artists, including the creator of the Baiao genre, Luiz Gonzaga. His hit "Asa Branca," also known for MPB (musica popular brasileira) artist Caetano Veloso's 1971 version, is here given soft expression by Eliane's piano. She maintains some of the song's Brazilian rhythms and feel, but also does classical style improvisation. Jazziest and intense at times is "The Way You Look Tonight," in which Herbie and Eliane engage in some complex deliveries, with changes in tempo and direction and interesting asides, demonstrating why jazz is considered a genre without limitations. My favorite moment is "Just Enough," an exquisite work of compelling beauty. Solos and Duets is a tour de force, easy listening and beautiful music throughout.