Born in Cleveland, Ohio, this former traffic reporter and disc jockey lived in Los
Angeles for eleven years and sang The Langham Huntington, (formerly the Ritz
Carlton,) The Four Seasons in Westlake Village, Chaya of Beverly Hills, and The
Torrance Civic Center to name a few.
Maria also opened for jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione at The Coach House and
in Columbus, Ohio she was featured with the opening act for Bob Dorough.
Maria recorded with Alphonso Johnson and Ndugu Chancler for an album
entitled “Chasing Dreams.” The EP received a wonderful review in Singer Magazine. But
Maria is most excited about the original pop and R&B album which will feature guitarist
and arranger J Curtis, who wrote Where Is The Love by the Blackeyed Peas. The album
is called Free As A Dove, and for it Maria wrote eight out of nine songs. Free As A Dove
has national distribution and is heard on traditional an Internet radio stations
throughout the world. Also as a songwriter, she wrote “So This Is Love,” a theme song
for a sitcom of the same name on the web.
Maria has always been surrounded by diversity in music that reached far
beyond what could be found in record stores. Maria began singing in the Melkite
Catholic Church at a very early age, and soon began sharing the bandstand with her
father Mike Jacobs, a drummer in the Cleveland area. Maria has always wanted to sing
and began so by doing her rendition of favorite standards, a few of which are heard on
her first album entitled “No Frills,” available on iTunes.
In the fourth grade Maria began fifteen years of classical flute study and some piano,
gaining a new appreciation for European melody and harmony through much practice
and listening. All of these rich, early experiences lead to superior ratings in flute
competitions throughout high school, a music scholarship at The Ohio State University
and singing jobs in area night clubs.
Upon graduating from college, Maria started working with several radio
stations as a disc jockey, but it was in Cleveland that she met up with friend and mentor
Bobby Jackson, three-time Gavin radio "Person of the Year.” The musical director of
then 24-hour jazz station, WCPN, hired her as his research assistant. It was there that
she realized she would forever be enmeshed in music, absorbing all she could from
her various surroundings.
Maria studied with some of the finest vocalists in the business, including
Kevyn Lettau, Marni Nixon, Roland Wyatt, and workshops with Mark Murphy, Shelia
Jordan, Rhiannon and Betty Carter. Other musicians she has recorded and performed
with include: Tony Dumas, Ralph Penland, Greg Poree, Michael Bluestein, Jerry White,
Bob Conti, Octavio Bailly, Ted Howe, Ed Czach, Adam Cohen, Bili Redd, Joe Corerro,
Richard Sherman, Sherry Luchette, Jack Bone, John Stuart, Dan Maier, Joe Hunter,
Greg Bandy, Drene Ivy, Kevin Muhammed, Dave Thomas and Mike Jacobs.
Maria still performs in Los Angeles, as well as Milwaukee, Cleveland and
Columbus, Ohio. Some more traditional stations her music can be heard on include
WKHR, WCLV, KJAZ and KPFK to name a few. For more information on Maria please
go to www.mariajacobs.com
Read more...