QUOTES

"Stellar singer, prolific songwriter and virtuoso keyboardist with a very fresh and unique sound." Bill White, writer for the Seattle PI

"Paula Maya's latest CD Paula is a collection of pristine pop that flirts with bossa nova, rock, electronica and even ska." Chris Gray, Houston Press

"Best Brazilian Songwriter." Seattle Weekly

"Maya displays style and talent that have been long time a Seattle secret." Ron Thunman, Times Standard, Humboldt County

"Maya redefines eclectic." The Herald, Everett

"Paula Maya cracks the Seattle code. Like the best of Northwest rock, Paula is hard to pin down." Seattle Sound Magazine

"Paula is ahead of her generation." Badden Powell, Rio de Janeiro

"We love Paula Maya's music!" Phill Edwards, KPFT- Houston

"Paula Maya is the kind of artist/band we love to support." Sabrina Roach, KBCS - Seattle

"Maya's sound is very modern and original." Terre Reynolds, KZFR- Chico

"Wonderful songwriter digs deep into her soul." Tom Scanlon, Seattle Times

REVIEWS OF PAULA, PAULA MAYA'S NEW RELEASE ON YELLOW HOUSE RECORDS:

"This is a homecoming of sorts for Paula Maya, so the Brazilian-born Seattle pianist and chanteuse is sticking around for a while, playing multiple shows over the next week. (Oct 25 - 31, See below.) Before Maya moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she also hosts a radio show, she lived in Houston and recorded her debut album, 1995's New Perspective, here. Her latest, this year's Paula, is a gossamer collection of pristine pop that flirts with bossa nova, rock, electronica and even ska as it calls to mind similarly singular singers such as Tori Amos, Bjork and Feist."
Chris Gray, Houston Press

"Whether she classifies as a World Music artist or not, Paula Maya has been around. Born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil (where she studied Jazz and Bossa Nova with legendary pianist Luiz Eca), and now residing in Seattle, Washington, Maya's music calls to mind everyone from Kate Bush to Peterl Gabriel, and from Jerry Lee Lewis to Tori Amos. But perhaps no comparison is more apt than to that of Bjork -- no more does the Icelandic singer stand along atop the mountain of quirky lyrics and distinctive vocal stylings. Paula Maya gives her a run for her krona. Maya's semi-eponymous "Paula" is a mixture of jazz, electronic, Latin, rock, blues, funk and ska, with more variety packed into some songs (such as Track 2, "Insanity") than one is likely to find during the entirety of an Ozomatli concert. Album opener "Full Moon" is a slow, sexy lounge act, taking its time like a good lover, whereas closer "Shaking" is something altogether different, filled with Eastern instrumentation, sweeping soundscapes and enchanting, lilting vocals. In between you'll find a little bit of everything else, including ska ("Sound is Light," "The Old Man"), funk ("In the Present") and the electronica-inspired "High On You," which evokes Lola Rennt with its steady, driving, incessant pulse, Paula's lyrics dancing atop like a Sugar Plum Fairy tripping on life."
Michael Fiegel, On Line Rock

"Brazilian pianist/vocalist/songwriter Paula Maya cracks the Seattle code. Like the best of Northwest rock, "Paula" " is hard to pin down, with touches of progressive rock, ska, and art metal snaking through guitarist Pat Hewitt's production. Hewitt's fluid guitar work imaginatively complements Maya's squared-off keyboard arrangements, and drummer Ben Smith presides over the sound in a way that is reminiscent of Matt Chamberlain's work with Tori Amos. Songs like "Full Moon," "High on You," "Beloved," and "In the Present" simmer with a regal eroticism that suggests a Yes concert in the court of Cleopatra. Hewitt's guitar gives a Black Sabbath feel to "War Again," a bold anti-war statement that begins with the compelling line "there they go again / marching to their deaths/ even if their bodies survive," and indulges in some histrionic goofiness on the "Johnny Be Good" take-off "The Old Man." When the lyrics become overly ethereal , as in "Patience (Job)," a delightful melodic twist comes along to bring the song back into Earth's orbit. Maya's vocals are impeccable throughout, applying various tonal approaches, some of which are enhanced by multi-tracked harmonies"
Bill White, Seattle Sound Magazine

PAULA MAYA - SONGSTRESS FROM SEATTLE, VIA RIO DE JANEIRO
by Ron Thunman, The Times-Standard
The exciting sounds of Paula Maya are coming to Humboldt County this Sunday, Jan. 21. Maya likes to call her energetic, yet sophisticated style music of the future. She may be onto something there, but only time will tell. Her musical abilities, especially on keyboard come from a long and dedicated road filled with hard work, practice and about a half a shake of luck. The smooth voiced Maya was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it was in Brazil that her interest in music was discovered and cultivated. Her love of music must not be interpreted as an adaptation of any particular musical style. She embraced the music itself and had her own ideas about the direction and content her music would take. She studied with some of the masters while in Brazil, primarily focusing on jazz and bossa nova. By now the talented young lady was about to spread her wings and fly to one of the hottest musical areas of the world in the last 20 plus years - Seattle. Maya hit the streets running as she honed her craft in a new world while continuing to create, direct and produces her own sound. This is not something that is said of a lot of groups, both new and old. She still strays away from the classics in any genre. As a matter of fact, according to her bio, "All her songs are original and primarily in English." That's always reassuring. She developed quite a following in the Seattle and around the North West and she also teamed up with the right people to help her attempt to climb that huge mountain called musical success. She had the unique but vibrant style developing and soon was affiliated with, Sound Machine Studios and the well known, Yellow House Records. During her growth and adaptation to American ways, she branched out a little and even did some work in Texas, and some in California, but Seattle kept calling her back home. Fortunately she has also been able to return to her native Brazil as well. The Latin beats accompanied with smooth jazz vocals are only accentuated with her keyboard qualities; she is indeed a virtuoso on the keyboard.Always traveling with the most capable, yet adaptable drummer available, she has been blessed in the past to have the legendary Ben Smith play for her many times. In addition to the beat, there is always a sweet guitar close by. Maya has the smooth, semi-sultry voice that blends with the guitar to deliver maximum enjoyment for the audience. She is all about the music, but emotion plays a large part in her development of music. According to her latest Bio, "She writes songs that help her audience and herself to get in touch with different kinds of emotions, on a sub-conscious level, in a non-predictable, fun fashion." Now remember, I didn't say that, the biography said that.What I would have said was, "She writes songs that effect the emotions, plus or minus - just enjoy them." Speaking of songs, an assortment of her best and some of her newest songs are being featured on a new album, aptly named Paula. Maya and Yellow House Records worked long and hard on the material that appears on this new disc and they hope that you enjoy it too. When previewing some of the cuts, what struck me most was the manner in which she can go from ultra silky to what I call running with the drums, in just a few bars. She truly has a versatile voice. From "Full Moon," where moonlight romance is mentioned to the straight beat and serious tone of "War Again," Maya displays the style and talent that have been a long time Seattle secret. __________________________________________________________________________________________

SEATTLE'S BEST
by Carl Hoover, Waco Tribune-Herald
For Maya, a Rio de Janeiro native, world music came not so much from her Brazilian roots, but in Seattle's cross-pollinating music scene. Maya studied classical piano and jazz in Rio but blossomed as a musician when she moved to Seattle, where she rubbed elbows with ska, Latin, Persian and electronica sounds as well as rock and pop. Rock and pop dominate her Seattle band's sound - described by a Seattle music critic as "Bjork meets Jerry Lee Lewis." That sound is captured on the group's new CD Paula. "I'm really proud of it", she said on a phone interview from Houston. "There's a lot of sweat, blood and tears in that CD." Maya's playing solo for her McGregor gig, singing her original songs in English. "I'm more of a rock singer-songwriter", she explained. "Come with an open mind." Just don't expect bossa nova, she added.

INTO THE FUTURE
By Dinah Urell, Hipfish
Bill White, Seattle PI music reviewer states, "Paula Maya is the music of the future." Singer, songwriter, and virtuoso keyboardist, Maya says that her true love is to write songs that will help her audience and herself to get in touch with different kinds of emotions on a subconscious level, in a non-predictable, fun fashion. Sounds like future to me. Maya grew up in Rio De Janeiro and attended the Brazilian Federal University of Music and studied jazz and bossa nova with legendary pianist Luiz Eca. She has shared stages with artists such as Djavan and Leila Pinheiro. However, Latin jazz is not her thing for she is likened more to an early Kate Bush, mixing elements of her music influences: jazz, medieval, eletronica, world with rock, blues and funk. That about covers it. Maya's work is gaining notice as something unique, taking the concept of eclecticism to a new level. As the carousel of visiting live performance comes to a windy whistle-stop for the winter season, plenty of time to plan to attend this futuristic music date. January 24 at Cannery Café Lounge in Astoria.

PAULA MAYA - BEST BRAZILIAN SONGWRITER
Seattle Weekly's Best of 2006, by Rachel Shimp
Paula Maya is a Brazilian singer-songwriter living in Seattle, but you won't find her or her band doing covers of "Chove Chuva" or "Desafinado" -All her songs are original and primarily in English-. Since 1999, Maya's taste for jazz, world, electronica, Latin, and classical has met with the blues-funk sensibility of her bandmates Ben Smith (drummer of Heart) and Pat Hewitt (guitarist, of the Rangehoods) to carve out a musical niche in an active, competitive city. Maya is skilled as a pianist, and her voice has been likened to an early Kate Bush-rich, slightly unusual, and affecting. Maya left her birthplace of Rio de Janeiro after college, first moving to Houston, then in the late '90s following a friend to Seattle, where she's built a career. While the winter's early sunsets get her down, she notes that Seattle is surrounded by mountains and water, like Rio-and while Mount Rainier is no Corcovado, it's majestic in its own way. The most remarkable difference between the two cities, she says, is Seattle's sleepy vibe. "There's so much energy in Rio-people are in the streets a lot, and there's music everywhere," Maya says. "Every time I go visit, when I come back it's really a shock, and I have to acclimate myself again." Like many in the local music community, Maya considers the policing of it somewhat uptight, but she finds support among musicians. "It's very expensive to live in Rio. Here, you can have a part-time job-of course, if you don't have a family-and get by, but that's impossible in Brazil," Maya says of her decision to pursue her music career in Seattle. "Musically, for rock, [this is] a better place to be for connections and to be influenced. What keeps me here is the development of my music and the friends that I have," she says. In addition to performing with her band, Maya has been co-hosting the KBCS-FM (91.3) radio show Raizes ("roots" in Portuguese) with Samia Panni since 1998. Panni launched the show nearly 20 years ago, but Maya's arrival brought Brazilian pop to the program, which confused listeners at first. "At the time, KBCS was a lot more folk. I started playing rock, and people were like, 'I thought this was a Brazilian show!' We said, 'Well, this is what the youth are listening to in Rio,'" Maya explains. Now, with Brazilian pop's visibility on the rise-psychedelic legends Os Mutantes were one of the most highly anticipated touring acts this summer-you might say that Raizes helped set the stage. Maya isn't just interested in spreading knowledge of South American music; she also feels passionately about issues affecting immigrants. She notes that the Montgomery, Ala.-based nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center recently reported a 33 percent increase in hate groups in the United States since 2000. "I was horrified," she says. "One reason is that people are being incited to be violent toward immigrants, even legal immigrants. [Other] people need to be aware of that."