Eliane Elias & Ed Motta, Barbican

The Barbican presents a double bill from Brazil with piano-playing vocalists Eliane Elias and Ed Motta showcasing the many sides of Brazilian-jazz fusion.
Elias, who now lives in New York, is a major name, known for her lightness of touch, exquisite sense of swing and for blending jazz with classical styles, along with the music of her homeland. Her lines are fluid and effervescent while her vocals have an almost hypnotic purity to them.
She got her big break playing with Steps Ahead in 1982, alongside jazz superstars Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Mike Mainieri, and Eddie Gomez, before forging a career as a soloist and bandleader. Albums such as 2006’s Around The City and 2011’s Light My Fire have seen her make forays into mainstream territory, but many of her strongest jazz and Brazilian-inspired releases, including Something for You: Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans and Bossa Nova Stories, have also arrived in the past decade. Expect tracks from Made in Brazil, her latest album, due to arrive at the end of March.
Larger than life (check out his Instagram feed) but perhaps lesser known outside of Brazil, Ed Motta is one to watch. An avid record collector and owner of more than 30,000 LPs, Motta has immersed himself in jazz, funk, rock and MPB (Brazilian popular music) and his output betrays influences from them all. 2002’s Dwitza, a blend of jazz, soul and Brazilian stylings had critics salivating, 2005’s Aystelum saw Motta flaunt his wide-ranging taste (each track draws from a different musical genre) and 2013’s Steely Dan-esque AOR confirmed him as a musical force to be reckoned with. 6 Music’s Giles Peterson is a serious fan and after this Barbican date, odds are, you will be too.