ALBUM REVIEWS MIDWEST RECORD Maya is a Brazilian living in Austin after a 17 year stay in Seattle, singing in Portuguese and letting her love of sounds Latin and African gleefully dance throughout the mix. That mouthful is simply a long way of telling you that on her sixth album, Maya is playing to her strengths and this is probably the set that will be dubbed her commercial album. If you give this a casual listen, you'll probably be fascinated by all the things whizzing by you can't put your finger on. If you take the time to go deeper, you're sure to fall in love with it. Rolling by as gently as a samba filled breeze, there's a whole lot more than that going on but it's all rolled together so seamlessly that's it's just a magnificent whole. A winner throughout. ~ Chris Spector INSIDE WORLD MUSIC The jazzy, South American styles of Texas-based, Paula Maya, incorporates Brazilian melodies with folk, roots, electronica, and pop onIluminar. The soft ballads and Brazilian percussion reveal an intimate side of Paula's music. It is very enjoyable and steeped in swirling melodies and rhythms of South America. Whether you are on an island, on the beaches of Rio, or in the comfort of your living room, Iluminarlights up any mood or situation with grace and authenticity. "So In Tune" showcases some great vocals here. Crystal-clear vocals and an uppity melody cements a beautiful song to her credit. The light vocals are indicative of Susan Aglukark's voicings. At any rate, Paula Maya creates a stunning release of pop-friendly songs with a good dose of South American pizzazz. ~ Matthew Forss BIO EDUCATION * Brazilian Federal University of Music - 2 years of Classical piano. * Bachelor's degree in music theory from the Conservatory of Music in Rio de Janeiro. * Classical piano lessons with international pianist Luiz Medalha. * Improvisation and harmony with legendary pianist Luiz Eça. Paula Maya also worked as his teacher-assistant. * Certificates from 2 Medieval music programs taught by reputable European teachers. * Composition with Maestro Leonardo Sá. * Voice with Maestro David Kyle, Steve Wall from the Seattle Opera and Mady Kaye in Austin TX. Paula Maya is a keyboardist, singer, songwriter and blog writer. Her songs are strongly influenced by Brazilian music, jazz, world-pop and great songwriters in all music genres. Paula is from Rio de Janeiro, the birthplace of bossa nova and songs such as Girl from Ipanema. Rio is also where choro, a Brazilian be-bop-like music, was born a century before bossa nova. Both music styles, as well as Brazilian dance music like samba and baião, are heard in Paula's songs. Another strong influence is the eclectic community of musicians from different parts of the world that Paula is a part of, in Austin TX and in Seattle, where she used to live. Different genres such as jazz, country, reggae and soukous inspire fresh music blends. Born Paula Burle de Niemeyer, she grew up between Botafogo, Copacabana Beach and the city of Cabo Frio (a cape in the state of RJ stretching east into the ocean). She attended the Federal University of Music in Rio de Janeiro to study classical piano, and graduated from the Brazilian Music Conservatory in Music Theory. Paula studied jazz piano and bossa nova with the great pianist / arranger Luizinho Eça who used to call her, affectionately, 'geniozinho' (petite genius). In the US Paula studied singing with former San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conductor David Kyle as well as jazz diva Mady Kaye in Austin, TX. Prior to leading her own groups, Paula performed with dozens of bands in a variety of music styles, including the legendary jazz /swing /MPB Orquestra Tabajara in Brazil. In Seattle she performed for fifteen years with an African band called Kalass, led by guitarrist, singer songwriter Ganga Clamoungou, from Chad. Also performed with Jamaican artist Alric Forbes and with a nine piece Latin jazz orquestra called Nueva Era. She has shared the stage with artists such as Caetano Veloso, Leila Pinheiro, Djavan, Vinicius Cantuaria, Teo Lima and Batacoto, Cyril Neville, Tab Benoit, Mitch Watkins and The Presidents of the United States of America. Paula Maya has songs in several compilations, including Delicacy, featuring songs with artists such as Jimmy Cliff. Paula's music background has greatly helped shape her own songwriting. 'I'm inspired by humanity, nature and the divine.' She released her first CD, New Perspective on Wow Mom Records in 1995, just two years after moving from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. Five years later she started her own record label, Yellow House Records, in Seattle, after the title track of Resurrection was featured in the movie The Learning Curve. She released four more records with her Seattle band, including her latest studio CD, The 12, released in March 2011, which led to Paula being featured as an Emerging Artist on the radio show Coast To Coast AM, with host George Noory, in March 2012. For 12 years Paula co-hosted the Brazilian radio show Raízes, on KBCS 91.3fm, in Seattle/Bellevue. Since her move to Austin she's been very active performing in a variety of venues and festivals through out Central Texas. Paula is currently finishing Iluminar, her new album with her Austin band, to be released in the spring of 2015.