Mariza Returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall on November 12, 2013

Portuguese fado singer Mariza returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, November 12 at 8 PM a part of the 10th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Mariza performed as part of the LA Phil's inaugural World Music series in 2003. The program will preview her upcoming CD, Best of Mariza, set for release in 2014 and is part of her first North American tour since 2009. She will be appearing with her quartet, including Jose Manuel Neto, "one of the gurus" of the Portuguese guitar, says Mariza; Pedro Joia on guitar; Yami, a bass player originally from Angola; and drummer Vicky Marques.

Born in 1973 in Lourenço Marques - present-day Maputo - the capital of the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique, Mariza (real name: Marisa dos Reis Nunes) learned about fado while still a child, listening behind the curtains or while serving tables at her father's tavern in Mouraria, a neighborhood in Lisbon steeped in fado. Not surprisingly, she grew up singing fado. "I always say that I don't remember my first doll, but I remember my first fado." Then, at about 13, she turned to soul and funk. Other important influences early on were African music, a reflection of her roots, and jazz.

A striking figure on stage -- slim and graceful, with short, bottle-blonde hair and dressed in high-fashion clothes -- Mariza quickly set herself apart from the static, mournful approach and reserved appearance that had defined traditional fado performers for decades.

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