Biography

Pianist / singer / songwriter, Eliane Elias is known for her distinctive and immediately recognizable musical style which blends her Brazilian roots, her sensuous, alluring voice with her impressive instrumental jazz, classical and compositional skills. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Eliane Elias’ musical talents began to show at an early age. She started studying piano at age seven and at age twelve was transcribing solos from the great jazz masters. By the time she was fifteen she was teaching piano and improvisation at one of Brazil’ s most prestigious schools of music. Her performing career began in Brazil at age seventeen, working with Brazilian singer/songwriter Toquinho and the great poet Vinicius de Moraes who was also Antonio Carlos Jobim’s co-writer/lyricist. In 1981 she headed for New York and in 1982 landed a spot in the acclaimed group Steps Ahead.

Her first album release was a collaboration with Randy Brecker entitled Amanda in 1984. Shortly thereafter her solo career began, spanning over twenty albums to date; fifteen of them on Blue Note Records. In her work Elias has documented dozens of her own compositions, her outstanding piano playing and arranging, and beautiful vocal interpretations. All of her recordings have garnered a great deal of praise from the critics and all have topped the Billboard and Jazz Radio charts.

In 1988 she was voted Best New Talent by the jazz critics poll of JAZZIZ magazine.

Together with Herbie Hancock in their duet, she was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Jazz Solo Performance” category for her 1995 release, “Solos and Duets” .This recording was hailed by Musician Magazine as “a landmark in piano duo history.”

In the 1997 Downbeat Readers Poll, her recording “The Three Americas” was voted Best Jazz Album. Eliane Elias was named in five other categories: Beyond Musician, Best Composer, Jazz Pianist, Female Vocalist, and Musician of the Year.

Considered one of the great interpreters of Jobim s music, Ms.Elias’ has been featured on many concert tributes to Jobim and recorded two albums solely dedicated to the works of the composer, Plays Jobim and Sings Jobim. The 1998 release “Eliane Elias Sings Jobim” won “Best Vocal Album” in Japan and was awarded ” Best Brazilian Album” in Jazziz Critics Poll of 1999.

Moreover, as a testament to the quality of her writing, the renowned Danish Radio Big Band has performed and recorded Elias’ compositions arranged and conducted by the legendary Bob Brookmeyer. The CD recording of this project is called “Impulsive” and was released on Stunt Records. IMPULSIVE received a Grammy nomination for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” in 2001. She performed this music live in several tours and was featured with the Carnegie Hall and the BBC Jazz Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band Orchestra to name a few.

In the same year, “Calle 54″, the highly acclaimed documentary film by Oscar winning Spanish director Fernando Trueba, featuring Ms. Elias’ performance of Samba Triste also received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album.

In 2002 Ms. Elias recorded with opera sensation Denyce Graves. For this recording, “The Lost Days”, Eliane arranged two Brazilian classical pieces and wrote an original composition especially for Ms. Graves entitled Haabia Tupi.

In 2002 Ms. Elias signed to RCA Music Group/Bluebird label and released Kissed by Nature . Her second recording for the label, DREAMER, released in 2004 , is a fresh mix of tunes from the American Songbook, Brazilian Bossa Novas and two new originals, all sung in English and Portuguese, supported by a full orchestra .
DREAMER received the “Gold Disc Award “and won ‘Best Vocal Album in Japan” in 2004. It reached #1 on the Jazz Charts USA and France, #3 on the Pop Charts in France and #4 on the Billboard charts in the USA.

Ms. Elias’ “AROUND THE CITY” cd was released on RCA Victor in August 2006 . It merges bits of Bossa Nova, with shades of pop, jazz, latin, and rock’n roll. AROUND THE CITY features Ms. Elias’ vocals and songwriting in collaborations with producers Andres Levin and Lester Mendez as well as fresh takes on pop classics such as Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” and Bob Marley’s “Jammin”. Her song “Running” was featured on the ABC series “brothers and Sisters”. Around the City won “Best Vocal Album of the Year”and “Gold Disc” 2006 awards in Japan. It reached #1 on the World Music Charts USA and debuted on the French Jazz Charts as #1.

In 2007, Ms Elias returned to Blue Note Records. Her 2007 release, “SOMETHING FOR YOU”, Eliane Elias Sings and Plays Bill Evans received “Best Vocal Album of the Year” and the “Gold Disc Award” in Japan . This is the 3rd consecutive recording that Eliane receives these awards and her 4th all together.
“Something for You” reached #1 on the USA Jazz Radio charts, #8 on Billboard and #2 on the French Jazz Charts.
Her 2008/ 2009 release “BOSSA NOVA STORIES” is a celebration to the 50th Anniversary of the Bossa Nova and features her vocals accompanied by a stellar rhythm section and strings recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. It achieved the following positions: Debuted at #1 on the French Charts (2008),#1 Vocal Album - Swing Journal, Japan (May-June 2008), #1 itunes Top Jazz Album (USA January 2009), #2 itunes Top Latin Album (USA January 2009), debuted at #2 on Billboard Magazine: both Overall and Jazz Charts (January 2009). Bossa Nova Stories was nominated by the Brazilian Grammys (20th Premio da Musica Brasileira, 2009 ) for Best Foreign Album. Eliane was the #2 artist in cd sales in France on the Annual Jazz Charts 2008.

As a guest artist she has appeared on performances and recordings with Joe Henderson, James Taylor, Michael Franks, Mingus Dynasty, Andy Summers, the Grammy winning Brecker Bros’. Out of the Loop, Earl Klugh, Toots Thielemans Brazil Project , Ivan Lins, Denyce Graves, Steps Ahead, Calle 54, and Marc Johnson’s “Shades of Jade” on ECM Records, an instrumental recording she co-produced and contributed many of her own original compositions. “Shades of Jade” received the Danish Music Award as Best Foreign Release in March 2006.

Ms.Elias was featured in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s televised Second Annual “Celebration of America’s Music” at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, four times on Marion McPartland’s NPR ‘Piano Jazz”; the JVC Festival performing with Sting, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Caetano Veloso at Lincoln Center in New York, the televised Piano Grand, a Gala celebration for the 300th Anniversary of the piano in Washington DC. hosted by Billy Joel, and the BBC Jazz Orchestra to name a few.

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