Thierry Peala - A Tania Maria Journey (2021)

Here is an album that does not lack charm, the one offered today by Thierry Peala (voice, vocal percussions, whistle and piano) and Verioca Lherm (guitar, voice, vocal percussions, pandeiro), with guest percussionist Edmundo Carneiro, Recognized and much appreciated musician who has collaborated with Baden Powell, Tânia Maria, Ana de Hollanda, Mike Pocaro, Rosinha de Valençia, Seu Jorge, Toots Thielemans, Monica Passos, Chucho Valdes, Johnny Clegg, Robin di Maggio, Eddie Gomez, Betina B, Brad Scott, Ray Lema, Axel Bauer, Ali Farka Touré, Lou Marini, Klaus Mueller, Ivan Lins, Alvaro Petersen, Maria de Medeiros… and I cannot name them all because the list would be far too long.
For this A Tania Maria Journey, the stage is set and we must admit that revisiting the work of the great Tania Maria is not easy. The style exercise was, however, perfectly successful. Where the explosive Tania Maria has accustomed us to volcanic eruptions, here the gaze is on the poetic and folkloric aspect of her work, a total rewriting of some of her most beautiful titles (“210 West”, “ Match Box ”,“ Nega ”,“ Encanto Meu ”) which make us strongly want to listen to Tania Maria's best albums, including the excellent Made In New York still. The art of Tania Maria has always been to place Brazilian music at the heart of jazz. In the mid-1980s I had the chance to film it for a foreign channel, during the bicentenary of the revolution in Paris. The price of tickets being quite (too) high, there were few people, which angered Tania, who had almost not performed. Then she returned to the stage, offering an unforgettable concert, surrounded by French musicians. To offer with this opus by Thierry Peala and Verioca Lherm, accompanied by Edmundo Carneiro, such a beautiful tribute to the music of Tania Maria, it is also to allow the transmission of the cultural memory of this music and to make young generations want interested in it. A remarkable work which was carried out to carry out this album A Tania Maria Journey which will appear on April 16, 2021 by Edyson Productions / InOuïe distribution and which sees itself propelled near the famous “Indispensables” of the editorial staff of Paris Move and Bayou Blue Radio.