Mariza
SF Jazz Center, Miner Auditorium
San Francisco
March 15, 2013
Senior Correspondent: Jana L.
Mariza has swept the world with her revival of fado, the
Portuguese blues style of music, with a voice as impressive as
the range of an opera singer. Mariza blends the traditional fado with
African and samba rhythms inspired from her travels to the former Portuguese
colonies such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde.
Mariza's astonishing voice travels right to the
core of my soul. Her art expresses longing with such
passion and playfulness that it is impossible to turn away from her
music. I can imagine tourists walking by a tavern on the narrow
streets of Mariza's home quarters of Mouraria in Lisbon, Portugal hearing
her voice and wanting to linger in a mesmerized state. Many of her fans probably recall the first
time they heard Mariza sing. I remember exactly when it happened
to me. My brother played her music while
we were closing down my parents’ home. And I needed to know
immediately who was singing.
Mariza treated San Francisco to sold out performances four nights
in a row last week at the Miner Auditorium, the new SF Jazz Center. She
appeared through dark purple lighting and entered the stage at first with a
slow sway, standing exceptionally tall in a long sparkling gown, then just
looking out at us all with amazement. It was as if she had met us before
and wanted to reconnect. It seemed that this was not just another tour
stop for her. She said how much she loves San Francisco as it reminds her
of home, the bay, the hills. Her graceful beauty did not strike until the
Portuguese guitar started playing and she began to shape the poetry
of fado with her stunning voice and
lively expressions from her hands and face. 
She is able to strike a romantic and tender chord with
such caring focus that it evokes emotions filled with both despair and
relief. I was moved to tears by her performance. Even though, I don’t
understand Portuguese, it is possible to find solace in the longing lyrics. How
does her heart hold that much passion in performance after performance?
In between the songs she was teasing and joking with her band members and
the audience and told stories of her new marriage and motherhood. Her
own life appeared more joyful than the sorrow of the fado she
sang. She also said that she wanted to sing fado before she could read
and fully understand it. Her father drew cartoons of the poetic fado songs
to help her sing at only five years old.
Her talented band consisted only of: 12-string Portuguese
guitar player, classical guitar, bass guitar and a percussionist yet were able
to create a multicolorful world in the music. Their generous encores
continued into the late night. She is simply remarkable, the most popular
modern fado singer in the world! She
gave us all a fantastic evening and for a little while took me away to Lisbon.
Songs to check out: Primavera (which she called her favorite of song of the late Amalia Rodrigues, Queen of Fado and one of Mariza's idols), Beijo de Saudade ("Kiss of Longing," a song recorded with Tito Paris of Cabo Verde which she performed without him), Barco Negro.
