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"Wonderfully vintage yet profoundly new and exciting."
- Musical Memoirs
As the jazz singer-songwriter sweetheart of SoCal, Maria Schafer’s velveteen vocals are highlighted in her songbook melding straight ahead, modern, and latin jazz. Remarkably memorable originals, modern lyrics with intimate delivery, and fresh arrangements of beloved chestnuts from the Great American Songbook welcome audiences to an expansive and inquisitive onstage alchemy.
Vocalist Maria Schafer warmly welcomes jazz listeners swiftly into the 21st century with her polished, soaring vocal style and easy, empathetic charm. Driven by an inquisitive passion for self-discovery through song, Ms. Schafer's sensitive and uncontrived approach to jazz "stands out among the current crop of jazz singers (Jefferson Public Radio)" and is "just the right tonic for jaded jazz ears (Midwest Record)." Instinctually articulate with a remarkable ear, she is an adventurous songwriter and composer in her own right and mixes influences from jazz, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, and folk music realms while also serving as a clever custodian of the Great American Songbook with fresh arrangements of silver-worn standards.
By writing lyrics from her own experiences and engaging directly and intimately with her audience, Maria seeks to convey messages of empowerment, endless curiosity, and physical embodiment of joy through dancing and sometimes vulnerable melodies. A cultivated mixture of Joni Mitchell's introspection, Dianne Reeves' vocal explorations, and Betty Carter's unabashed approach to the truth all serve key roles in both Ms. Schafer's originals and interpreted songs. Her current recording project, "Here For You", is set to arrive in Fall 2024 and will be her first album to feature a majority of original songs, offering catchy new standards and beautifully haunting, heart-bearing tunes exploring the vulnerability of love and the catharsis of reveling in lessons learned from failure.
An ardent student of life, Maria intended to follow her aunts' footsteps in medicine and become a nurse while participating in the elite choirs and vocal jazz ensembles at Mt. San Antonio College under the direction of Bill McIntosh and Bruce Rogers. But when a paperwork issue prevented her from moving on to a nursing program, she heeded a budding curiosity and started studying music while seeking a years-long resolution to the delay. Eventually she earned dual two-year degrees in Kinesiology & Wellness and Music and then continued with an undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance and Jazz Studies (B.M) from California State Long Beach under the direction of Christine Guter.
As a student musician she ventured alone to Latvia as a Finalist in the Riga Jazz Stage competition and then cut her teeth on international stages as the female vocalist touring full-time with The Glenn Miller Orchestra across North America and Japan for two years. She has further developed her musical influences through a deep love of multiple Brazilian music genres and attending workshops and camps centered around folk and world music. Ms. Schafer's current three full-length albums and holiday album feature new-fashioned standards and illuminating originals and can be heard on stations across North America including KKJZ (Los Angeles), KNKX (Washington), KCSU (Colorado), WDCB (Chicago, IL), and CBC Radio in Canada.
Press Quotes
"Schafer's awareness of when to embellish and when to pull on the reins stands out among the current crop of jazz singers all-too eager to show off their chops at the expense of communicating actual emotion." - Jefferson Public Radio
"...just the right tonic for jaded jazz ears." - Midwest Record
"This Downbeat darling is just the right tonic for jaded jazz ears." - Midwest Record
"A treat for anyone who considers themselves to be a Jazz aficionado, superb, smooth, evocative vocals, enveloped in equally emotive instrumentals." - Riveting Riffs
"A knockout debut... leaves you wondering what she can't do." - The New York City Jazz Record
"A stunning debut. Make a note of Schafer's name, because you're going to be seeing and hearing it a lot over the coming years. With a voice like hers, there are no limits to how far this exceedingly talented lady can go." - babysue Reviews
A "voice full of nuance, strong in character and soaked in emotion that the audience cannot and should not deflect.” - Debbie Burke, jazz blogger
“...makes you beg for more of the same. Impressive foray." - Jazz Weekly
"Simply put, Ms. Schafer has the kind of classy voice that would not be out of place in the pantheon of great female jazz vocalists." - Hill Rag
"A master of her craft...Whatever her musicians do, they only enhance [her] style and beauty. She is the diamond necklace hanging around the necks of these band members and glittering brightly." - Musical Memoirs
“[Maria's] pure and genuine presence [shares] the warm and distinctive feeling of late Karen Carpenter. So Right shows a unique hybridization of Latin Bossa Nova and Pop with Maria's captivating cheerful vocals.” - First View
“[Maria] is winsome with percussion and Sprague’s soprano on “So Right.” There’s a pastoral beauty on “When We Dream” while some folksy pedal steel guitar by Rick Schmidt gives an indie Nashville feel for Schafer on “You Belong To Me”.” - Jazz Weekly
“Warm and sensuous vocal talent” - SmoothJazz.com
“Vocalist Maria Schafer is a work of art" - Blog Talk Radio
“She has a hot jazzy voice that can handle a lot...just to say her vocals are excellent on this album.” - Keys and Chords
"Schafer’s velvety voice rises above the strains of this fabulous musical ensemble." - The Strand Center for the Arts
