Fado & Tango: A Unique Musical Event October 29 At Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage

Fado &Tango: A Unique Musical Event 

At Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage

Ramana Vieira Fado-inspired Portuguese World Music

  Co-billed with Redwood Tango Duo Electric Tango

   For An Evening of Fado and Energetic Tango

Open dance floor!

$20 advance / $22 door

Doors open at 7p.m. show starts at 8p.m.

  Vieira is joined by Chilean Guitarist/Percussionist Tomas Salcedo and cellist Gretchen Hopkins and Alberto Rameriz on bass

Location

Freight and Salvage
2020 Addison Street 
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-2020 / info@freightandsalvage.org

www.freightandsalvage.org

v   Ramana Vieira is “the new voice of Portuguese world music.” -Mundo Portuguese Magazine

v  “Conservatory-trained singer Ramana Vieira adds a New Age sensibility and instrumentation to the music with cello and drums.” - New York Times

A rare opportunity to hear Portuguese fado music performed live when California-based fado singer and composer Ramana Vieira brings her dramatic and powerful voice to the Freight and Salvage Oct. 29^th. Joining her on stage is the red hot Redwood Tango Ensemble, for a first time exclusive concert presentation of two acclaimed Bay Area artists doing a night of Tango and Fado.

Ramana and her group will perform traditional, ballad-style Fados that pay homage to the “Queen of Fado,” Amália Rodrigues, along with up-tempo compositions from their 2010 album, Lagrimas de Rainha, and new compositions written and arranged for their upcoming album, Windows of Luso Sol. Vieira’s new work captures influences from all the countries of Portuguese language and cultural heritage in a musical tapestry that ranges from whispering, haunting ballads to collaborations featuring the works of famous Portuguese-Canadian poet Euclides Cavaco.  

Ramana Vieira has been described by Mundo Portugues as the “New Voice of Portuguese World Music.” She has headlined the world's largest Portuguese festival, the New Bedford Portuguese Feast in Massachusetts, and performed at the 2010 Encontro Festival in Macau. One of her original songs, “Unido Para Amar,” was played for the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, and she was chosen to sing for the 50th Grammy Awards special MusiCares benefit honoring Aretha Franklin.

Ramana was recently honored to be exclusively invited by United States Congressman Jim Costa to perform for the president of the Azores alongside the internationally acclaimed guitarrista and artist Chico Avila.

Fado, the most widely recognized music of Portugal, is a passionate, soul-stirring music with soaring vocals and dramatic tales of love, loss and redemption. Legendary fadista Amália Rodrigues popularized fado in the 20^th century, and today, platinum-selling Portuguese singers Ana Moura and Mariza are selling out concert halls in the US. The New York Times has recognized Ramana Vieira as an American at the forefront of the fado resurgence.

“Nobody else is doing what we are doing with fado,” Vieira says. Part of her innovative approach to the music is in the instrumentation. Traditionally, fado was music for voice and the guitarra Portuguesa, a 12-string guitar derived from a type of African lute. But as Larry Rohter of The New York Times has noted, "Conservatory-trained singer Ramana Vieira adds a New Age sensibility and instrumentation to the music with cello and drums." Ramana’s ensemble includes Tomas Salcedo on Portuguese violao guitar, Gretchen Hopkins on cello, and Alberto Ramirez on electric bass.

Ramana’s personal relationship to fado music lies deep in her family history. Her grandfather was a well-known musician and composer from Madeira Island, Portugal. Ramana was born in San Leandro, California, to Portuguese immigrants, and was exposed to the voices of Portugal’s past at a young age. “During my childhood, I sang with my mother to Amália Rodgrigues and other fabulous fadistas that were part of her special record collection,” said Vieira.

Her passion for music continued as she matured and eventually she attended the American Conservatory Theatre where she did her vocal training with Faith Winthrop, San Francisco's grande dame of song and one of the most respected singers and vocal coaches on the scene today. Along with singing, Ramana studied drama and dance as well as performing in theatrical productions.

Although she had dreams of a Broadway career, her direction shifted abruptly when a famous music producer inspired her to embrace her Portuguese roots. Shortly after that she found herself on an unexpected journey to Portugal where she had the opportunity to perform with local fado singers and musicians, bringing the house to its feet with her authentic, yet individual style. “It was there I discovered that there was nothing in the world more gratifying to me than singing fado.”

CONTACT
Ramana Vieira

ramanav@earthlink.net

510-409-1809
Artist Website: www.ramanavieira.net