Mariza, Platinum Queen of Fado
by John Oseid
In New York's West Village some years ago, I heard platinum-coiffed Mariza give a recital in the cozy Portuguese restaurant Alfama. Never mind that I didn't know the name Alfama from alfalfa, nor that I had never heard of the elegant fado singer. Years later, though, as I spent evening after evening in the fado clubs of Lisbon's hilly old Alfama district, I realized that she was fast becoming the star of her country's signature mournful music.
The lithe Mozambican-born fadista (fah-deeshta) has just embarked on a staggering 47-city tour of the States. I had the fortune of catching her recent show at Town Hall, where--how apropos--she unveiled a new song entitled "Alfama." While she extolled her love for Lisbon in the slow, wrenching "Minh' Alma" (My Soul), a few fans waved a huge Portuguese flag like it was a soccer match. Such is a fado devotee's level of love.
Mariza performed mostly from her lovely new album Terra. An excellent English speaker and born raconteur, she shared tales of growing up in a taverna and paid homage to each of the guest artists on her album. "Beijo de Saudade" (Kiss of Yearning) features the gruff Kriollu (or Creole) voice of Cape Verdean singer Tito Paris. And, once again, the great Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés appears with a Boom Box favorite.
After the curtain call, Mariza and her band stood front stage and performed an unamplified piece, sounding as intimate as it would in a proper fado house. You can get a taste in the above video, in which the same group--including a baby-faced virtuoso named Angelo Braz Freire on the 12-string Portuguese guitar--performs "Rosa Branca" in the famed Pena Palace.
More music:
* Mariza's tour includes shows in L.A. at Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 18; Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts on March 29; Santa Fe's Lensic on April 23; and the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco on May 2.
* How's this for timing? Famed Spanish director Carlos Saura's wonderful film Fados features Mariza and is showing in limited release. Check out Manohla Dargis's New York Times review.
* Boom Box: An unabashed gusto for music of the world
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And she is performing this very weekend - March 13 & 14 at the Zeiterion Theater in little old New Bedford, MA.
Posted by: CarlaJ | March 13, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Mariza is indeed a phenomenal singer, performer and entertainer. One does not have to understand Portuguese to fall in love with the beauty of her voice and the passion she transmits in every song.
I am one of the co-owners of Alfama (www.alfamarestaurantnyc.com), where she has launched two of her CD's and performed a few times. We are so lucky and privileged to have met her and to have earned her friendship. She deserves all the success in the world.
Brava Mariza! Beijinhos do Tarcisio, Miguel e do pessoal do Alfama.
Posted by: Alfamafan | March 13, 2009 at 05:48 PM