New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Boundary-breaking Portuguese guitar player
Marta Pereira da Costa will be coming to North American stages this March, with a monthlong, five city tour, that includes stops at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX (Full Tour Dates Below). This tour is a rare opportunity to catch the world's first and, so far, only woman to play the Portuguese guitar professionally.
For those unfamiliar with this unique instrument, The Guitarra Portuguesa is the double six-stringed, teardrop-shaped guitar that gives Portuguese fado music its distinctive bright, metallic timbre; an almost-jaunty counterpoint to the lush melancholy of the lyrics. Traditionally played by men, both as an accompaniment to fado singers and as a solo instrument with its own repertoire, the Portuguese guitar is at the heart of that nation's rich musical heritage.
Marta Pereira da Costa builds on that heritage, while taking the music in surprising new directions of her own. Learning the instrument under the tutelage of
Carlos Gonçalves - one of the most influential players and accompanists of the legendary fado icon Amália Rodrigues -
Marta has performed with some of the true giants of Portuguese music, including Camané, Mário Pacheco, Dulce Pontes, and Mariza, as well as Afro-Atlantic legends such as Cameroon's Richard Bona and Cape Verde's Tito Paris.
Marta's self-titled debut album was released by Warner
Music in 2016, containing 13 tracks that mixed original compositions with interpretations showcasing contemporary Portuguese composers; instrumental tracks with guest vocalists such as Dulce Pontes, and Rui Veloso, and fado tradition with jazz improvisation and instruments and influences from around the world. One of Marta's key collaborators on this album was GRAMMY Award-winning Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona, who helped bring Lisbon's simmering Afro-Atlantic vibes to the fore on "Encontro".
Now
Marta is bringing her unique take on contemporary Portuguese sounds to North America, along with her band: António Pinto on classical guitar,
Miguel Amado on contrabass, Alexandre Diniz on piano, and André Sousa Machado on percussion. Together they'll perform both Marta's original repertoire from her album, as well as their own takes on Portuguese classics from the artists that have influenced her, including Variações
Carlos Paredes and Mário Pacheco.
"Last year we played more than 30 concerts, so I'm very happy with this opportunity to take my voice, which is my Portuguese guitar, and my project and band to perform in the US", says Marta. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see this singular artist bring her sound and vision to some of North America's most iconic stages.
Marta Pereira da Costa 2019 U.S. Tour Dates:
March 7th - Five Wounds Portuguese
National Church, San Jose, California
March 8th - Portuguese Embassy, Washington DC
March 9th - Kennedy Center,
Millennium Stage, Washington DC
March 13th - Victorian Room, Driskill Hotel SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas
March 14th - Lincoln Center,
David Rubenstein Atrium, New York
March 15th - DROM, New York
March 16th - Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA
