Eliane Elias: Tiny Desk Concert

Suraya Mohamed | December 9, 2022
Eliane Elias and her husband and bassist, Marc Johnson, arrived the day before this Tiny Desk to check out the space and audition the just-delivered shiny Yamaha digital piano. We all worked to make sure that every detail, including the sound and camera angles, were just right. And it turned out great. The meticulousness and care that went into this concert is evident in the brilliance of the performance.

Elias and her band brought a little bit of Brazil with this commanding performance of the best of the Brazilian jazz genre. Watch how the piano keys sit comfortably under Elias' hands, and how the dynamic syncopation in her percussive left hand complements the beautiful melodic lines of her right, both blending perfectly with the musicianship of her talented band. This superb combination of Afro-Latin rhythms, like samba and bossa nova, with straight-ahead styles make for really infectious music.

Eliane Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and grew up in a musical household. By the time she was 10 she was already a huge jazz fan. Today, she has her own fandom and a 31-album catalog that includes her latest release, Quietude, and Mirror Mirror, a project with Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés that won both a Grammy award and a Latin Grammy for best Latin jazz album earlier this year.

SET LIST
"At First Sight"
"An Up Dawn"
"The Time is Now"

MUSICIANS
Eliane Elias: digital piano,vocals
Marc Johnson: upright bass
Rafael Barata: drums, percussion
Leandro Pellegrino: guitar

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Hannah Copeland
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #elianeelias