A rising star in the Los Angeles vocal jazz scene, singer Maria Schafer seamlessly blends a jubilant, "journey-bound" jazz mixture of swing, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban concoctions for an evocative program of heartfelt and enchanting tunes. Her remarkably memorable originals, velvety sweet vocals, and beguiling poise help listeners land somewhere between tasting the best whiskey-laden cocktail of their life and falling in love.
Maria spent two years touring as the featured vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, has performed at festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival, won awards at the Next Generation Jazz Festival and Reno Jazz Festival, garnered ensemble wins in the Student Downbeat Awards, and appeared on performing arts center stages across the USA and Canada, Riga Jazz Stage in Latvia, and Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Blue Note Tokyo, and Blue Note Nagoya in Japan. Her two full-length albums feature folk-tinged jazz originals and new-fashioned standards and are played regularly on radio stations across North America including KKJZ (Los Angeles), KNKX (Washington), KCSU (Colorado), WDCB (Chicago), and CBC Radio in Canada.
In October, Maria will be touring the USA West Coast spanning jazz clubs, radio stations, and performing arts centers in CA, OR, and WA.
On the timing of the tour, Maria shares that this tour will "be a sneak peek of my next album featuring my newest songs, expanded instrumentation, musical alchemy, and continued musical growth. My songbook has joyously developed with original songs melding jazz and world genres, spanning the heartfelt to the cheeky and playful- but I am also still indulging my growing taste for exploring and arranging lesser-known jazz standards."
Though the October performance tour is not Ms. Schafer's first foray through the western USA, this time she travels with more friends in tow than on previous visits. Having played many years together in the greater Los Angeles areas, previous tours centered on a duo with Ventura-native guitarist Shane Savala, and this time Schafer and Savala will be joined by bassist David Reynoso and drummer Karo Galadjian, all based in southern California. Together they breathe life into Maria's compositions and arrangements as well as originals written together by Schafer and Savala, creating a bed of joyous jazz interplay in support of Maria's lithe voice and adventurous yet intimate lyrical and melodic interpretations.
"A knockout debut... leaves you wondering what she can't do." - The New York City Jazz Record
“...makes you beg for more of the same. Impressive foray." - Jazz Weekly
Visit http://www.mariaschafer.com for more information or check out Maria's music here:
♫ Follow on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/43tCYWd
♫ Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/YBC-MariaSchafer_on_BandCamp
♫ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@mariaschafermusic