Born on the 19th March 1960 in São Paulo, Brazil, Elias started learning to play the piano at the age of seven, and was transcribing solo portions of her parents’ jazz records by the age of twelve.
After studying for six years (and teaching by the age of fifteen) at Brazil’s prestigious Free Centre of Music Apprenticeship, she continued her classical education with Amilton Godoy and Amaral Vieria. She was also the protégé of Vinicius de Moraes, lyricist and songwriting partner of Antonio Carlos Jobim, a huge influence on Elias' work, and master of the Brazilian bossa nova movement. By the time she was seventeen years old she was touring with the best bossa nova composers and interpreters, composing her own pieces and performing at jazz clubs regularly.
Elias then moved to New York and studied privately with Olegna Fuschi at the Julliard School of Music, eventually joining jazz supergroup Steps Ahead (whose members included Eddie Gomez, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, and Mike Mainieri).
Her first live instrumental recording, Eliane Elias Plays Live, was recorded in Amsterdam on the 31st May 2002, and digitally released in the USA in 2010.
Elias lives in New York City with her husband, bassist Marc Johnson.
* Official site
The classical tradition meets the spontaneity of jazz through the virtuosic playing of Brazil-born and New York-based pianist Eliane Elias. A former member of jazz ensemble Steps Ahead, Elias has continued to explore two distinct musical streams through her solo recordings and her performances since the mid-'80s. In 1993, she became one of the few artists to release jazz and classical albums simultaneously. In a review of a concert in her homeland, Brazil magazine praised Elias for "her dazzling right-hand runs, executed often at frightening speeds. Her command of the keyboard was total. Her harmonic sensibility caused a sense of wonderment."
Elias may have inherited at least some of her musical talents from her mother, Lucy, a classical pianist who often played jazz records in the family home. After studying for six years at the Free Center of Music Apprenticeship in São Paulo, she continued to study classical technique with Amilton Godoy and Amaral Vieira. By her teens, Elias was composing her own pieces and performing in jazz clubs. While touring in Europe in 1981, she met jazz bassist Eddie Gomez and was encouraged to travel to New York. Arriving in the Big Apple the following year, she studied privately with Olegna Fuschi at the Juilliard School of Music. Elias' professional career received a boost when she was invited to join Steps Ahead, a jazz "supergroup" featuring Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Mike Manieri, and Eddie Gomez. She recorded one album with the group -- Steps Ahead -- in 1983. Shortly after leaving Steps Ahead, Elias began collaborating with trumpet player Randy Brecker, whom she subsequently married but later divorced. Their sole duo album, released in 1985, was named after their daughter Amanda. The following year, Elias launched her career as a bandleader. Since then, she's alternated tours with two different trios, one featuring drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Gomez and the other featuring drummer Erskine and her current husband, bassist Marc Johnson. Elias has also performed with a third trio, featuring Johnson on bass and Satoshi Takeishi on drums.
She signed with Blue Note in 1989, and released her debut for the label, So Far So Close, the same year with a slew of guests. While most of her recordings have been instrumental, Elias introduced her soft but coarse vocals on her 1990 album Eliane Elias Plays Jobim, and has employed vocals on occasion ever since. Her 1995 album Solos and Duets featured a brilliantly executed duet with Herbie Hancock. In addition to working periodically with Toots Thielemans' Brasil Project, Elias has served as musical director for Gilberto Gil's group. While she continued to record for the rest of the '90s, it was 2000's Impulsive! that proved one of the largest surprises in her career as she collaborated with conductor and arranger Bob Brookmeyer leading the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra. In 2002 she left Blue Note for RCA's Bluebird label, where she debuted with Kissed by Nature, a primarily vocal album, and followed it up with the lovely Dreamer in 2004. Elias released Around the City in 2006, a collection of primarily vocal tracks that moved ever further into pop territory, covering music by Santana, Bob Marley, and even Beck. It was her final album for Bluebird.
She returned to Blue Note for 2007's Something for You: Elaine Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans, fronting a trio with Johnson (who played with Evans) and drummer Joey Baron. In 2009, she issued what many have argued is her finest recording, Bossa Nova Stories, fully engaging her Brazilian heritage in bossa and samba and illustrating her singular jazz instincts as a pianist. In 2010, Savoy Records issued Timeless Eliane Elias, a compilation of tracks culled from her mid-'80s recordings Illusions and Cross Currents. In late 2010, Elias signed with Concord; in the late spring of 2011 she released Light My Fire, her debut set on the label. A year later, Elias paired with bassist Marc Johnson for the instrumental ECM date, Swept Away. In 2013, Elias paid homage to trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker with I Thought About You: A Tribute to Chet Baker. ~ Craig Harris & Thom Jurek, Rovi
MINHA
Eliane Elias Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Desde a hora que nascestes
Minha, não te encontro
Só sei que estás perto
E tão longe no silêncio
Noutro amor.
Como uma estrada que não deixa
Seres minha onde estejas
Vou te achar
Vou me entregar
Vou te amar
E ha tanto amor
Que até pode assustar
Não tem mais essa imensa sede
Que ao teu corpo eu vou levar
Minhas és eu sou só teu
Sai de onde estás pra eu te ver
Pois tudo tem que acontecer
E tem que ser, tem
Tem que ser, vem
Para sempre,
para sempre,
para sempre.
... solo piano ...
Compositor: Francis Hime; Ruy Guerra.
The song MINHA by Eliane Elias is a beautiful love ballad that speaks of an unbreakable connection between two people. The lyrics communicate a profound sense of devotion and longing as the singer searches for her beloved. She sings, "Minha, vai ser minha" which translates to "Mine, you will be mine" from the moment of your birth. However, she must find and be reunited with her beloved as they seem far away yet still close in silence and through another love. In the same vein, she compares finding her love to an effortful adventure like a road that won't allow her to own where they are, being however she is, she will find, surrender and love them wholly.
In this way, the song stands as a metaphor for the universal experience of romantic love. The singer's relentless and passionate pursuit of her love, despite the challenges in her path, represents the human longing for connection and the power of love to overcome all obstacles. The brief, yet stunning solo piano section of the song adds to its emotional depth, marking a moment of reflection and introspection as the singer considers her feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Minha, vai ser minha
You belong to me and always will; it's inevitable.
Desde a hora que nascestes
From the moment you were born, you were destined to be mine.
Minha, não te encontro
I can't find you, but I know you're close by.
Só sei que estás perto
All I know is that you're near, even if I can't see you.
E tão longe no silêncio
Yet, you feel so far away in the silence.
Noutro amor.
And I know you may have been with others, but you belong with me.
Como uma estrada que não deixa
You're like a road that never lets me catch up to you.
Seres minha onde estejas
I want you to be mine, no matter where you are.
Como sejas
It doesn't matter who you are, I'll still love you the same.
Vou te achar
I'll find you, no matter what it takes.
Vou me entregar
I'll give everything I have to you.
Vou te amar
I'll love you with all my heart.
E ha tanto amor
And there's so much love that it might even be scary.
Que até pode assustar
Because the amount of love we have might seem overwhelming.
Não tem mais essa imensa sede
I don't have this overwhelming thirst for you anymore.
Que ao teu corpo eu vou levar
Because now, I want to take care of your needs and desires.
Minhas és eu sou só teu
You belong to me and I belong to you.
Sai de onde estás pra eu te ver
Come out from where you are so I can see you face to face.
Pois tudo tem que acontecer
Everything happens for a reason, and we are meant to be together.
E tem que ser, tem
It has to happen, it's meant to be.
Tem que ser, vem
It has to be, come to me.
Para sempre,
para sempre,
para sempre.
Forever and always, we belong together.
Contributed by Jasmine I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tony Vella
Minha (All mine)
Eliane Elias
Minha, vai ser minha
Desde a hora que nascestes
Minha, não te encontro
Só sei que estás perto
E tão longe no silêncio
Noutro amor.
Como uma estrada que não deixa
Seres minha onde estejas
Como sejas
Vou te achar
Vou me entregar
Vou te amar
E ha tanto amor
Que até pode assustar
Não tem mais essa imensa sede
Que ao teu corpo eu vou levar
Minhas és eu sou só teu
Sai de onde estás pra eu te ver
Pois tudo tem que acontecer
E tem que ser, tem
Tem que ser, vem
Para sempre,
para sempre,
para sempre.
... solo piano ...
Compositor: Francis Hime; Ruy Guerra.
Gonzalo Gamaza
Conmovedora canción, me hace sentir cosas muy profundas, Eliane Elías! ❤️
Santiago Bo
You can´t compare Eliane with Diane Krall. Her incredible skill on piano playing, her wide range of musical resources and sensitivity are incomparable. And her sensuous singing is so, so appealing...Love her!
Tony Vella
Why not......Santiago Bo ??????
Richard Wallace
Great song and rendition! Bill Evans's version is great, too.
Bruno Corrêa
Lindo demais!!!! Mais a melhor interpretação desta música é com Elis Regina!!!!!!
Julia Barca
En español , italiano o en su lengua original , el portugués de brasileño, Minha de Francis Hime es la perfección y en la voz de esta enorme cantora es insuperable ❤️
Tony Vella
Minha (All mine)
Eliane Elias
Minha, vai ser minha
Desde a hora que nascestes
Minha, não te encontro
Só sei que estás perto
E tão longe no silêncio
Noutro amor.
Como uma estrada que não deixa
Seres minha onde estejas
Como sejas
Vou te achar
Vou me entregar
Vou te amar
E ha tanto amor
Que até pode assustar
Não tem mais essa imensa sede
Que ao teu corpo eu vou levar
Minhas és eu sou só teu
Sai de onde estás pra eu te ver
Pois tudo tem que acontecer
E tem que ser, tem
Tem que ser, vem
Para sempre,
para sempre,
para sempre.
... solo piano ...
Compositor: Francis Hime; Ruy Guerra.
rumpali1
Eliane is at the top of her game on this track. Simply beautiful.
alrovelldelou2
Belíssimo e acolhedor, Parabéns
tsnrhm
Dark, moody, sensitive, emotional. This is Elaine Elias at her best. Thanks for posting.