INTERVIEW: Fado singer Mariza celebrates 20 years at NJPAC
Photo: Mariza will perform a special concert honoring her 20th anniversary in the music business. Photo courtesy of artist / Provided by Cindy Byram PR with permission.
Mariza, the soulful, emotive singer of the Portuguese music known as fado, has reenergized the art form for contemporary audiences. Her bracing voice and fresh take on the traditional style have gathered new fans of fado and also delighted those devotees who fondly remember the days of Amália Rodrigues.
Amazingly, and somewhat surprisingly, Mariza is already celebrating her 20th anniversary in the music business, and she is throwing a party for the milestone with a mini tour around the United States, including a Jan. 23 stop at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The special concert, which was delayed due to COVID-19 but is now on track, will bring tunes from her seven acclaimed albums, showcasing her unique fado singing, which is sometimes tinged with jazz, flamenco and African music. The event will no doubt be an important night for lovers of the art form, especially the Portuguese and Portuguese-American community, whose roots run deep in Newark’s nearby Ironbound neighborhood.
Recently Mariza exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox on what fans will hear at the NJPAC concert. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can your fans expect from the concert at NJPAC?
Well, a concert based on 20 years on the stage. I’ll be singing songs from all my studio albums. I will bring a concert with some magic moments, but if I tell you all, we will not have magic.
Are you worried about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 disrupting the concert plans?
Of course I am, but the life we were used to does not exist anymore. So we have to start living again without fears, but being responsible and protected.
The Newark area has a large Portuguese community. Are you able to enjoy the community when you’re in town?
Being on the road it’s not [as] easy as people think. A day for us could start at 4 in the morning, so having time to relax is not so usual. But if we have time, let’s go for a “Bica” and a “Pastel de Nata” (traditional Portuguese coffee and pastry).
When you’re singing a fado song, what is going through your mind?
Life.
When did you first fall in love with fado?
I start[ed] singing fado at 5 years old in my parents taverna because I grew up in a very traditional Lisbon neighborhood called Mouraria, where fado [was] born in the 19th century, so it was there.
Can you believe it has been 20 years since your first recording?
Yep, it was fast, beautiful, amazing, painful and absolutely wonderful.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Mariza will perform Sunday, Jan. 23 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
