I have now heard the dynamic and captivating soul vocals of Mariza in concert 3 times. At Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, Green Music Center at Sonoma State, and at SF Jazz in San Francisco. My mother's parents were from the Portuguese Island of Graciosa in the Azores. They immigrated to the U.S. and arrived at Ellis Island in N.Y. and became citizens, later settling in California. My mom introduced me to Fado, that was made popular world wide by the legendary Amalia Rodrigues. The most significant moment at Mariza's concert for me, was the first time I heard her Live, and she closed the show by singing "Summertime" in English. I cried my eyes out!

Let me start by introducing you to Fado, which I consider the ultimate expression of the "blues" music genre.

Fado (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfaðu]; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today."

Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholy. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage). This is similar to the character of several musical genres in Portuguese ex-colonies such as morna from Cape Verde, which may be historically linked to fado in its earlier form and have retained its rhythmic heritage. This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime proletariat (sailors, bohemians, dock workers, port traders, fishwives and other working-class people) can also be found in Brazilian modinha and Indonesian kroncong, although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.

Portuguese guitar

The word fado possibly comes from the Latin word fatum - "fate", "death" or "utterance". The word is linked to the music genre itself, although both meanings are approximately the same in the two languages. Nevertheless, many songs play on the double meaning, such as the Amália Rodrigues song "Com que voz", which includes the lyric "Com que voz chorarei meu triste fado" ("With what voice should I lament my sad fate/sing my sad fado?").

The English-Latin term vates, the Scandinavian fata ("to compose music") and the French name fatiste (also meaning "poet") have been associated with the term fadista.

History

Fado appeared during the early 19th century in Lisbon, and is believed to have its origins in the port districts such as Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto. There are numerous theories about the origin of fado. Some trace its origins or influences to the Medieval "cantigas de amigo" (song of a friend), some ancient Moorish influence and the chants of Africans sailing at sea, but none is conclusive. It possibly evolved and formed, from a mixture of several older musical genres.

Fado performers in the middle of the 19th century were mainly from the urban working-class, namely sailors, bohemians and courtesans, who not only sang, but also danced and beat the fado. During the second half of the 19th century, the dance rhythms would eventually fade away, and the performers became merely singers (fadistas).

Maria Severa, fado singer (1820–1846)

The 19th century's most renowned fadista was Maria Severa. More recently Amália Rodrigues, known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") was most influential in popularizing fado worldwide. Fado performances today may be accompanied by a string quartet or a full orchestra.

Musicological aspects

Fado typically employs the Dorian mode or Ionian mode (natural major), sometimes switching between the two during a melody or verse change. A particular stylistic trait of fado is the use of rubato, where the music pauses at the end of a phrase and the singer holds the note for dramatic effect. The music uses double time rhythm and triple time (waltz style).

MARIZA's Background

Marisa dos Reis Nunes ComIH (born 16 December 1973), known professionally as Mariza (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾizɐ]), is a Portuguese fado singer.

Mariza was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, to a Portuguese father, José Brandão Nunes, and a Mozambican mother, Isabel Nunes. When she was three years old, her family moved to Metropolitan Portugal, and she was raised in Lisbon's historic quarters of Mouraria and Alfama. While very young she began singing in a wide variety of musical styles, including gospel, soul and jazz. Her father strongly encouraged her to adopt fado; he felt that participating in the traditional music would grant her greater acceptance in the Portuguese community. Mariza has sold over 1 million records worldwide.

In 1999, fado's most famous and beloved interpreter, Amália Rodrigues died. In the public remembrance and mourning that followed, fado regained much of its previous popularity, and Mariza was asked to perform a broadcast tribute to Rodrigues' memory, which caused her friends to begin urging her to record an album of fado music. She did so, and in 2001 Fado em Mim was released. It sold an astounding 100,000 copies (4,000 copies of a fado disc would have been considered successful). After this the record company made the disc available worldwide, and sales eventually topped 140,000 copies.

One of Mariza's hit songs, Transparente is a tribute to her African grandmother.

Mariza sang the Portuguese national anthem at the 2002 FIFA World Cup of football, at the game which pitted the home team (South Korea) against Portugal.

By the time Mariza's second album, Fado Curvo, was released in 2003, she was considered a member of the New Fado movement, with a voice reminiscent of traditional divas of the musical form such as Rodrigues. Her interpretations of fado standards brought her rapid international recognition, leading to her being the recipient, in March 2003, of BBC Radio 3's award for Best European Artist in World Music. Her British television debut was on Later with Jools Holland. For the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 she sang "A Thousand Years," as a duet with Sting. It was released on the official pop album of the Athens Olympics, Unity, on which fado is sung in English and Portuguese.

Mariza performing in Cambridge, England in 2004

In 2004 Mariza won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.

Mariza's third album, Transparente, was recorded in Brazil and released in 2005. She performed at Live 8; she sang at the Eden Project in Cornwall, after which she has been invited to concerts and events worldwide to promote Portuguese culture, from Australia to Finland, the United States and Argentina. That album eventually reached Top Ten in countries which include The Netherlands, Spain and Finland. Mariza, who lives in the upmarket Alcântara dockside area of Lisbon, has received many awards from countries such as Denmark, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.

She has performed in venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall and Central Park, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barbican, Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, Royal Festival Hall, Lisbon's Centro Cultural de Belém, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Paris' Théâtre de la Ville, Madrid's Teatro Albéniz, Barcelona's Teatro Grec, X Cairo International Song Festival 2004, Centro Cultural de Macau, Moscow International House of Music, Toronto's Massey Hall, Sydney Opera House and the National Concert Hall in Dublin in February 2010.

Roberta Sá and Mariza

Her album released in 2007 Concerto em Lisboa received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. The following year, she again released an album, Terra which also was nominated for Best Folk Album at the Latin Grammy Awards. This album continued to mix a variety of genres, containing basic fado influenced by jazz, flamenco, Latin and African sounds.

In 2010, Mariza was featured in the pilot episode of the PBS music series, Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders, singing the "global hit" -- "Minh' Alma." In 2010, Mariza released the album Fado Tradicional, returning to the roots of Fado, but also interpreting the music in Mariza's unique style.

Beginning on 28 February 2011 the airline TAP Portugal began airing its "TAP With Arms Wide Open" (TAP de Braços Abertos) campaign, featuring its new slogan. Three singers, Mariza, the Brazilian singer Roberta de Sá, and the Angolan singer Paulo Flores starred in a music video with the song "Arms Wide Open."

Mariza performed alongside Ana Moura as the opening act of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Lisbon, Portugal, singing Barco Negro.

"Barco Negro"