2004 Latin Grammy Winner MARIA RITA in Concert in her first 2005 US Tour Friday, April 15, 8:30 PM Wadsworth Theatre, Brentwood
Infused with her “intimate but spare sound [and] warm, sensual, jazz-inflected voice” - NY Times,
	Brazilian Singer MARIA RITA “A Voz Nova” The daughter of the late, great Elis Regina, singer Maria Rita has been hailed as “the biggest phenomenon to hit Brazilian popular music in years” - NY Times.
Rita’s 2003 self-titled debut CD garnered not only critical and popular praise, but three Latin Grammy Awards.
	Tickets: $68 (Prime Seating), $46 & $36 Available at Ticketmaster (213) 365-3500 or www.ticketmaster.com For information: (818) 566-1111, www.WadsworthTheatre.com Tickets will go on sale March 18, 2005

MARIA RITA “A Voz Nova” “The biggest phenomenon to hit Brazilian popular music in years.” — The New York Times

As the daughter of the late, great Elis Regina — whom many Brazilians regard as the country's greatest female singer of the last 50 years — and of Cesar Camargo Mariano — the distinguished jazz and pop pianist, arranger and composer — Maria Rita Mariano is heiress to one of the most hallowed music dynasties in Brazil.

Born on September 9, 1977 in Sao Paulo, Maria Rita spent several of her formative years, from 16 to 24, in the USA. Majoring in Latin American studies and communications at New York University (toward a career in journalism), Maria came to music slowly, her tastes tending toward American jazz-based singers Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole as well as funk and pop bands like Earth, Wind and Fire. For years, in spite of frequent comparisons to her legendary mother, Maria wrestled with self-doubt about her singing ability.

In 2001, Maria returned to her native Brazil with the intention of becoming a professional singer. She started quietly, but in 2002, Maria was asked to sing as a special guest in a concert at Sao Paolo's Supreme Musical Theater. The audience was astonished with the young singer's fresh interpretation, and the career of Maria Rita was launched.

Rita's 2003 self-titled debut CD, infused with her “intimate but spare sound [and] warm, sensual, jazz-inflected voice” (The New York Times), has garnered critical and popular praise as well as three Latin Grammy Awards.