The classical tradition meets the spontaneity of jazz through the virtuosic playing of Brazil-born and New York-based pianist
. A former member of jazz ensemble
has continued to explore two distinct musical streams through her solo recordings and her performances since the mid-'80s. In 1993, she became one of the few artists to release jazz and classical albums simultaneously. In a review of a concert in her homeland,
for "her dazzling right-hand runs, executed often at frightening speeds. Her command of the keyboard was total. Her harmonic sensibility caused a sense of wonderment."
Elias no doubt inherited at least some of her musical talents from her mother, Lucy, a classical pianist who often played jazz records in the family home. After studying for six years at the Free Center of Music Apprenticeship in São Paulo, she continued to study classical technique with
Amilton Godoy and Amaral Vieira. By her teens,
Elias was composing her own pieces and performing in jazz clubs. While touring in Europe in 1981, she met jazz bassist
Eddie Gomez and was encouraged to travel to New York. Arriving in the Big Apple the following year, she studied privately with
Olegna Fuschi at the Juilliard School of Music.
Elias' professional career received a boost when she was invited to join
Steps Ahead, a jazz "supergroup" featuring
Michael Brecker,
Peter Erskine,
Mike Manieri, and
Eddie Gomez. She recorded one album with the group --
Steps Ahead -- in 1983. Shortly after leaving
Steps Ahead,
Elias began collaborating with trumpet player
Randy Brecker, whom she subsequently married but later divorced. Their sole duo album, released in 1985, was named after their daughter Amanda. The following year,
Elias launched her career as a bandleader. Since then, she's alternated tours with two different trios, one featuring drummer
Jack DeJohnette and bassist
Gomez and the other featuring drummer
Erskine and her current husband, bassist
Marc Johnson.
Elias has also performed with a third trio, featuring
Johnson on bass and
Satoshi Takeishi on drums.
She signed with Blue Note in 1989, and released her debut for the label,
So Far So Close, the same year with a slew of guests. While most of her recordings have been instrumental,
Elias introduced her soft but coarse vocals on her 1990 album
Eliane Elias Plays Jobim, and has employed vocals on occasion ever since. Her 1995 album
Solos and Duets featured a brilliantly executed duet with
Herbie Hancock. In addition to working periodically with
Toots Thielemans'
Brasil Project,
Elias has served as musical director for
Gilberto Gil's group. While she continued to record for the rest of the 1990s, it was 2000's
Impulsive! that proved one of the largest surprises in her career as she collaborated with conductor and arranger
Bob Brookmeyer leading
the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra. In 2002 she left Blue Note for RCA's Bluebird label, where she debuted with Kissed by Nature, a primarily vocal album, and following it up with the lovely
Dreamer in 2004.
Elias released
Around the City in 2006, a collection of primarily vocal tracks that moved ever further into pop territory, covering music by
Santana,
Bob Marley, and even
Beck. It was her final album for Bluebird.
She returned to Blue Note for 2007's
Something for You: Elaine Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans, fronting a trio with
Johnson (who played with
Evans) and drummer
Joey Baron. In 2009, she issued what many have argued is her finest recording,
Bossa Nova Stories, fully engaging her Brazilian heritage in bossa and samba and illustrating her singular jazz instincts as a pianist. In 2010, Savoy Records issued
Timeless Eliane Elias, a compilation of tracks culled from her mid-'80s recordings
Illusions and
Cross Currents. In late 2010,
Elias signed with Concord; in the late spring of 2011 she released Light My Fire, her debut set on the label.
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Craig Harris & Thom Jurek, Rovi