The story lines captivated me so much that it triggered my film-composing instinct –leading me to score each song like I would a movie. With Maria’s stunning timbre voice and her captivating charisma and personality which are all needed to connect the music to the words and context of the songs, along with the voluptuous sound of the Metropole Orkest, my heart opened up. See us in person in global tours starting this winter full of jazz content.

"A symphonic Jazz approach to Fado", is how singer-songwriter Maria Mendes describes the music on her new album Close To Me. "It is not Fado," she immediately emphasizes. "I only used the music and poetry from this genre, but made a completely personal interpretation of it, with new arrangements." In addition, she wrote her own songs, all in the spirit of the genre of her motherland.