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
Movin Me On
Eliane Elias Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I must be a mile asleep
This destination that I felt all my life is
Movin' me on, movin' me on
I know why I’m going
I see it in my sleep
Insinuation of a diamond place by visions of you
Bringin' me joy
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
I know now I’m going
There’s no time to waste on a sleep
Across a nation of visions of you
Movin' me too, closer to you
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
I’m closer to you
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
I’m closer to you
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
I’m closer to you
Movin’ me on like a river
Rollin' me on
Like a river, movin’ me on
I’m closer to you
Like a river, movin’ me on
I’m closer to you
Like a river, movin’ me on
In Eliane Elias’s song "Movin' Me On," the lyrics speak to a feeling of being in motion, both physically and emotionally. The singer knows where she’s going and why, and it’s a destination that has been a part of her for a long time. She feels like she’s a mile asleep, but the idea of this place is still moving her forward. The visions of this place bring her joy and move her on like a river, rolling her towards this diamond-like destination.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes more confident in her path and sees that there’s no time to waste on sleep. She’s moved closer to this destination by the nation of visions she’s experienced. The river metaphor is utilized once again, emphasizing that the movement towards this place is natural and unstoppable, just like a river. Ultimately, the singer feels like she’s closer to this place than ever before, and it’s all because of the constant movement of her life.
Overall, "Movin' Me On" is a song about being in motion and going towards a place that has always been a part of one’s life. It speaks to the power of vision and joy in moving us forward, and reminds us that sometimes we need to keep moving to get to where we’re meant to be.
Line by Line Meaning
I know where I'm going
I have a clear idea of my destination
I must be a mile asleep
I am so sure of where I am heading that it feels like a dream
This destination that I felt all my life is
I have had a strong sense of this destination from a young age
Movin' me on, movin' me on
This destination is propelling me forward with great force
I know why I'm going
I have a clear purpose for this journey
I see it in my sleep
My purpose is constantly on my mind, even in my dreams
Insinuation of a diamond place by visions of you
You inspire me to reach a place of great value and beauty
Bringin' me joy
This journey is not a burden, it brings me happiness
Movin' me on like a river
The force of my purpose is as strong and persistent as a river
Rollin' me on
My purpose is carrying me forward without hesitation
There's no time to waste on a sleep
I cannot afford to lose time, every moment counts in reaching my purpose
Across a nation of visions of you
My purpose and inspiration reaches across an entire nation
Movin' me too, closer to you
My journey is also bringing me closer to you
I'm closer to you
My purpose and journey are leading me to be closer to you
Movin' me on like a river
My purpose continues to push me forward towards my goal
Rollin' me on
My journey is becoming unstoppable in its force
Like a river, movin' me on
The force of my purpose is often compared to that of a river
I'm closer to you
My journey and purpose are bringing me closer and closer to you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ELIANE ELIAS, MARC JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind