Music is the heart and soul of jazz singer Maria Mendes,
who studied in New York, Brussels, Rotterdam, and Porto, and whose talents have
been praised by musical legends such as Quincy Jones and Hermeto Pascoal. With
her new album, she explores Fado: the music from her native Portugal and a
completely different genre for the vocalist. The results of this unique
adaptation are surprising and refreshing and thoroughly engaging on her
upcoming release, Close to Me (available October 25 on Justin Time Records).
"A symphonic Jazz approach to Fado," is how the
singer-songwriter describes the music on her new album. "It is not
Fado," she immediately emphasizes. "I only used the music and poetry
from this genre, but made a completely personal interpretation of it, with new
arrangements." In addition, she wrote her own songs, all in the spirit of
the genre of her motherland. Although Mendes has been living in the Netherlands
for several years, her connection to Portugal remains strong: it is where Fado
is anchored, in the soul of the country.
Her love for the genre began at an early age, when as a
child she heard the melancholic, dramatic sounds every day on the bus that took
her home from school. "The first time I was really touched by it was when
I was 18, when I heard Mariza sing “Barco Negro," says Mendes. It is one
of the most loved Fado songs and known especially in the voice of Amália
Rodrigues, the greatest Fado queen. "Fado is in our identity," Mendes
says. "It is our way to evoke ‘saudade’: longing for the past and hoping
it becomes present once again. But it is also universal, we all have those
feelings in life."
The idea for Close To Me gained shape at a festival in the
Netherlands: the Dag van de Rotterdamse Jazz. There, in the context of a musical
assignment commissioned to her by the festival, Mendes combined the harmonies
and melodies of two folk songs: the Portuguese “Barco Negro” and the Dutch
“Ketelbinkie”. The reactions from the press and the public were so enthusiastic
that the singer decided to investigate whether she could also master other Fado
songs through jazz arrangements. She started working on the repertoire of the
Portuguese greats such as Carlos Paredes and Amália Rodrigues and, inspired by
their work, also wrote her own songs in which she explores her love for Jazz
along with her affection for Portugal. Moreover, one of her musical gurus, the
Brazilian legend Hermeto Pascoal, wrote a Fado especially for her.
Mendes convened a top-notch band for this outing. Backing
her every step of the way is her group of top Dutch jazz musicians: pianist
Karel Boehlee, acoustic bassist Jasper Somsen, and drummer/percussionist Jasper
van Hulten. In addition, she collaborated with the famous multi-GRAMMY®
Award-winning Metropole Orkest – (the world’s leading jazz symphonic orchestra)
– in a chamber line up of thirty musicians, led by conductor, GRAMMY®
Award-nominated Jazz pianist, and composer John Beasley, who not only produced
the album but also played keyboard and wrote the orchestrations.
With her new project, Mendes hopes to attract a wider
audience. "This album is a gift for the avid listener. For people who have
an eclectic taste,” she says. “I don't know what the Fado audience will think
of it, but I hope they'll listen and appreciate the respectful and refreshing
approach I have given to these beautiful songs.”
Close To Me, Mendes’ third album will be released
internationally on Justin Time Records. Her first release was the 2012 debut
Along The Road (Dot Time Records), and in 2015 she released the successor,
Innocentia (Sony Music Portugal). In recent years, she has completed several
successful tours with performances all over the world, including the
prestigious concert halls Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Blue Note Jazz Club
(New York) as well as the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals.
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