Thursday evening was the perfect night for an outdoor concert and Mariza topped off that evening with a beautiful performance. Entering the stage in a dark, three-tiered gown, bedecked in beads, Mariza entered the stage with a quiet confidence and started right in on her first number, Há uma música do Povo. Her presence and facial expressions immediately drew her audience in, even those of us who don’t speak Portuguese.

Accompanied by the San Diego Symphony (Matthew Garbutt, conductor) and her own entourage of musicians (Luis Guerreiro on Portuguese guitar, António Neto on  acoustic guitar, and Vasco Sousa on the acoustic bass guitar), Mariza started her performance with two slower, passionate songs: Há Uma Música do Povo and Cavaleiro Monge. She then picked up the pace, inviting the audience to clap with Maria Lisboa. Showing true joy in performing, during the pause in the middle of the song, Mariza had fun drawing out her vocalizations while Matthew Garbutt anticipated cueing the Symphony to start back up.

Some of the other songs that she shared with her audience were: Meu Fado Meu, Senhor Vinho, and Ó Gente Da Minha Terra along with at least three other songs not listed on the program. After teaching the audience a word in Portuguese, guitarra, we were treated to an instrumental song featuring the Portuguese guitar, acoustic guitar and acoustic bass guitar. Another of the songs not on the program, Barco Negro, was mesmerizing with Mariza singing "a cappella", accompanied most of the time only by a drummer playing African-like rhythms. She finished off this delightful evening with an encore of Maria Lisboa.

Following Mariza's performance, the audience was treated to fireworks courtesy of the San Diego Symphony Summer Pops; a delight that has become standard fare for Summer Pops concert goers. Many thanks to the San Diego Symphony Summer Pops for inviting such a wonderful artist here to our city. We look forward to Mariza's next San Diego appearance.

If you would like to hear some of Mariza’s music and get information on where she is performing next, visit her website http://www.mariza.com/index.html.