Eliane Elias Music

Eliane Elias' CD features intricate Latin-influenced rhythm arrangements. Peter Erskine, Bob Berg, and Andy Narrell play especially well. This is an excellent example of contemporary jazz meeting Latin in a very musical, beautiful style.

I love this CD.
I have just about all of Eliane's CDs and this one is one of my
favourites; it sounds so fresh, so updated, Eliane is on
it at all times; and that particular way of hers of singing
is absolutely breathtaking, check cuts like: "A Long Story",
"Horizonte" and "Just Kidding", wow..... she leaves us wordless.

Eliane delivers a flavorful cornucopia of Brazilian influenced gems. She is by far one of the most rhythmically complex pianists this reviewer has ever encountered in this or any other genre (aside from Art Tatum ). Her playing is soulful, feminine and very Brazilian which is the very thing that makes this work so very sexy. Of particular note are 'Back in Time" which is a gumbo of driving Piano rhythms and chanting that really stirs the spirit and "Vida Continua (life goes on") which is an inspirational piece that is as tender as it is atmospheric. In a word this album is....Magnificent.

Eliane Elias' CD features intricate Latin-influenced rhythm arrangements. Peter Erskine, Bob Berg, and Andy Narrell play especially well. This is an excellent example of contemporary jazz meeting Latin in a very musical, beautiful style.

I love this CD.
I have just about all of Eliane's CDs and this one is one of my
favourites; it sounds so fresh, so updated, Eliane is on
it at all times; and that particular way of hers of singing
is absolutely breathtaking, check cuts like: "A Long Story",
"Horizonte" and "Just Kidding", wow..... she leaves us wordless.

Eliane delivers a flavorful cornucopia of Brazilian influenced gems. She is by far one of the most rhythmically complex pianists this reviewer has ever encountered in this or any other genre (aside from Art Tatum ). Her playing is soulful, feminine and very Brazilian which is the very thing that makes this work so very sexy. Of particular note are 'Back in Time" which is a gumbo of driving Piano rhythms and chanting that really stirs the spirit and "Vida Continua (life goes on") which is an inspirational piece that is as tender as it is atmospheric. In a word this album is....Magnificent.

Eliane Elias has made her name in the jazz field with some serious knuckle crunching jazz chops. After several successful albums for Blue Note, she suddenly released this album (on the EMI classical label) in 1993. And it is really very good indeed. She pays tribute to her countryman, Heitor Villa Lobos with 6 compositions, gives an above average performance of the Ravel Sonatine, and includes some Chopin mazurkas. The high point is her very bright rendition of Sebastian Bach's French Suite No. 5. I recommend this recording overall, and in particular for the Bach.

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!