Maria Rita
Latin jazz wasn’t originally on our list of must see things at the festival but we are certainly glad we ended up seeing the huge star of Brazillian music, Maria Rita. The atomosphere was perfect and soon chased away the sounds of the previous act that was still strong in my ears as we settled down in what must have been one of the largest seated arenas at the festival.
The band came on stage first and set the scene with some cool sounding latin rhythms and then Maria Rita was welcomed to the stage. The first thing that struck me about Maria was the way she carried herself in front of the crowd; she truely respected her audience and the music she was about to perform. Introducing herself she mentioned how she hadn’t ever performed at an event of this size and that she was thrilled to see so many there.
It was at this stage I realised that this was probably going to be one of the best acts I had seen and I wasn’t wrong. Maria’s voice carried really well and instantly had you listening intently with foot tapping being the least amount of movement observed in the room. Starting with some more generic pieces to warm the crowd Maria soon moved up to some much more adventurous pieces making full use of the band to superb effect.
Two thirds of the way through her set, after a particularly spectacular track which captured the imaginations of eveyone present and really reinforced the definition of latin jazz music she became the only artist I saw at the festival to recieve a standing ovation which lasted for a good 5 minutes. Clearly overwhelmed Maria got the crowd to remain standing and dance to some further superb pieces of music, two of which feature on her new album soon to be released.
From her performance at the festival it isn’t hard to see why Maria Rita has become an icon in the Brazillian music scene. Missing out on listening to her music is just not an option.
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When are you going to realise it was just that the time was wrong.... Juliet... 
Aline G. Said,
March 31, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
Hello,
Looking for articles in English on Google about one of my favorite singers I found this page. As I read you have gone to a Jazz festival in Netherlands and saw MARIA RITA’s presentation and although I wasn’t there I have to agree with you, she is amazing. I don’t know if you have checked anything about her but her mother was a great singer in the 60’s and 70’s and her father is also a great musician as her brothers as well.
I have the opportunity to watch her concert 2 years ago in Sao Paulo and I am waiting for a new one to check her new concert on her 3rd album called SAMBA MEU where she sings only true and wonderful Samba songs.
Well, I am a music lover and I also interested discussing anything on music, so if you would like to know anything more about our brasilian music, please let me know on my e-mail.
Thanks for your time,
Aline G. – Sao Paulo – Brasil