Brazilian native singer playing Fitzy’s Crab Shack Sunday afternoon
By Susan Doolan
Maria Farinha brings a unique
blend of Brazilian and North American jazz to Barrie on Sunday.
It is the music of her
heritage, her inspiration and her passion.
“When I write a song, I’m
always thinking about Brazil,” Farinha said of her birth country.
It is also where she discovered
and began studying Brazilian jazz. Like North American jazz, it’s a fusion of
different cultures and styles.
Farinha grew up studying
classical music, yet she danced and played Brazilian music. As a child, she
listened to grandmother’s maid’s samba group. Later in life, she marked her
second album with samba music. Her first album, recorded in the United States
in 1998, was Brazilian jazz.
She began studying it at
home and left Brazil to attend her dream school, the Berklee College of Music
in Boston.
She spent 10 years in
America, recording, performing and ultimately returned to Brazil, with a
husband and two children, after 911. But after four years, she decided to leave
again.
“We had become accustomed
to our North American lifestyle,” Farinha said, “but I didn’t want to go back
to the U.S.”
When she was living in
Boston, Farinha took a brief trip to north of the border to visit Toronto. She
also has some extended family living here. She liked the country, quality of
life and better education opportunities for her children.
The couple applied to
immigrate to Canada and moved to Toronto at the end of 2007. Farinha is now
working on her doctorate in music at York University, where she also teaches
jazz vocals. In addition, she teaches privately and while singing is her main
focus, she teaches some piano and theory.
“Teaching is (vital) for
me,” Farinha said. “I’m very happy being a teacher. It’s a time in my life
where it’s really fulfilling me.”
For the Barrie
performance, she is featuring her quartet and some of the music from her latest
CD, released last year. Called Uwattibi, it is an Indian name native to the
Brazilian language. The music is Brazilian and North American jazz, all
original songs, vocal and instrumental.
The CD was recorded in
Toronto and Brazil with a mix of musicians from both countries. The percussion,
cover art, mixing and mastering are also Brazilian.
The album contains some
of the pieces Farinha has composed for her dissertation, which focuses on piano
pieces. The music is Brazilian choro that Farinha said is a version of ragtime
music from the beginning of the 20th century. She expects to publish the piano
pieces in a music book.
While her doctorate
centres on the piano, she has taken several pieces and arranged them for the
CD.
“Usually I compose only
piano pieces but what I did for the ensemble is a few songs from my
dissertation that I wrote (with) lyrics so I rearranged everything for this
ensemble more like a popular jazz style,” Farinha said. “And there are solos,
too. It’s very hybrid.”
For the Barrie gig, she
will be singing only. Farinha is recognized internationally for Brazilian jazz
music and frequently appeared at jazz festival across the U.S. She also
continues to perform in Brazil.
Joining Farinha is
guitarist Roy Patterson, drummer Ethan Ardelli and Kieran Overs on acoustic
bass. Patterson also wrote a song and shares co-writing credit for another
(with Farinha) on the album.
The Maria Farinha Band
plays Fitzy’s Crab Shack on Sunday, March 18, 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Fitzy’s Crab Shack is
located at 145 Dunlop St. E. in downtown Barrie.
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e= 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment