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Maria Mendes

Portuguese Jazz vocalist Maria Mendes, winner of significant international jazz awards, draws attention of both international media and public for her inventive and heartwarming sound that has been reviwed as an "exotic jazz with Portuguese nostalgia".

About Me

Maria Mendes is one the current rising stars on the jazz scene.

Maria Mendes’ sold out performances in Switzerland, Brazil, Portugal, Germany and Holland have been drawing the attention of the jazz media worldwide and have gotten great reviews considering her to be one of the most promising singers in the European Jazz scene. Recently her debut album “Along the Road” was presented to the American audience at the prestigious Blue Note Jazz Club New York (27th January 2014). These two concerts at Blue Note were part of her first US Tour that took Maria throughout the East Cost with a total of six concerts in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Long Island and New York City. Maria is remarkable for her crystal clear voice, creative and exciting phrasing and outstanding vocal virtuosity. Her unique vocal abilities have been praised internationally by jazz critics and jazz musicians, awarding her with significant international jazz vocal prizes. She comes from a dynasty of Portuguese musicians and is educated a Jazz vocalist in Porto, Brussels, and Rotterdam. Her culturally rich background has supplied her with the richness of the classical music, the Bossa Nova’s gentle grooves and the American jazz classics of the early 50s. Born in Porto (Portugal) and living in Rotterdam (Netherlands) since 2007, it was during her master thesis at Rotterdam’s Codarts university that Maria sought to explore her passion for Jazz and discover her connection with the Bossa Nova. These studies have given her the perfect conditions for the achievement on her uniqueness in style. This is probably what led the international press to classify the sound of Maria Mendes’s debut album as an “Exotic jazz with a Portuguese nostalgia”. Her debut album “Along the Road” has been released worldwide in May 2012 by the New York based jazz label, DotTime Records. With the international release tour of “Along the Road” Maria has achieved a loyally following audience in each country she performs.

During the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2010 Quincy Jones stated “I see a promising and shining future for this young talented singer”. With the release of “Along the road” we can see that Mr Jones prediction was right.

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