North Sea Jazz 2010

NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010

Maria performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival on the 10th of July 2010, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with Bert van den Brink on piano and accordion, Clemens van der Feen on contrabass and Jasper van Hulten on drums. 

Read the review in Jazzflits, by Harm Tiddens :

‘What a creature!’

I had already made plans for Saturday, the second swelteringly hot day of the North Sea Jazz Festival, when friends of mine insisted that I first see Maria Markesini, who was performing there with Bert van den Brink (piano & accordion), Clemens van der Feen (bass) and Jasper van Hulten (drums). I set aside half an hour for her in my schedule, but of course, that came to nothing. From the very first notes in the tropical heat of the Yenisei hall, which was filled to overflowing, it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to tear myself away early from this concert. The moment she came on, Maria Markesini filled the theatre with her warm personality. Wearing an elegant white dress, with her flame-red hair and penetrating eyes, she was to keep the audience completely under her spell during the whole performance. It was a wonderful concert; every number told another intimate story altogether.

Markesini proved how versatile her talents are, switching apparently effortlessly from sensitive piano playing with Bert van den Brink to chansons, from a Greek folksong to ‘Cinema Paradiso’ by Ennio Morricone, while changing her contribution from song, to song and piano, to piano alone. One of the highlights was the sensitive duet that she sang with Bert van den Brink, alternating singing with soft rhythmic panting and percussive clapping. Here Van den Brink proved himself a more than worthy replacement for Richard Bona, who recorded this number on her album ‘Kosmo’. Markesini still seems to be sincerely surprised that bass player Bona was willing to collaborate on her album. And yet this is not so strange, as Richard Bona likes to play with musical stars to create a musical bash. Besides, through his collaboration he is making a statement: ‘This you really have to listen to!”. When announcing a Greek song, Markesini apologized: ‘Greece, what a painful story – but not its musicians.’ Markesini is a splendid illustration of what today’s Europe has to offer. She was born in Greece and received her musical training there, as well as in Rotterdam, Brussels and Amsterdam, where she studied. And of course playing with Bert van den Brink, who sings with her or accompanies her in a Greek song on his special accordion adds an extra dimension. An elderly lady sitting next to me let out a satisfied sigh at the end of the concert with .‘What a creature! ’ (HT)  http://www.jazzflits.nl/jazzflits8.12.pdf