Maria de Fatima
Maria de Fatima grew up in fascist Portugal, and left her homeland at the age of 20. She first moved to Sweden where she worked for a number of years as teacher and interpreter. Maria de Fatima's mother was a singer, but Maria discovered her love of jazz, Brazilian, and Portuguese music during her stay in Sweden. She moved to Amsterdam to further her music studies. Later, de Fatima made her way to Germany where she now teaches at the University of the Arts in Bremen and the music school in Oldenburg. Besides having worked with such jazz greats as Peter Herbolzheimer, Maria is on the concert circuit, and conducts workshops. Maria de Fatima's regular cast of players in her group includes Sebastian Altekamp, Wolfgang Bleibel, Jason Seizer, Dré Pallemaerts, and Nic Thys. Her music bridges the gaps between Fado, jazz, and Brazilian music. Maria's repertoire ranges from classic Portuguese Fados and original compositions on through to Brazilian Musica Popular. In 2010 Maria de Fatima won the prestigious BMW World Jazz Award. The jury's assessment stated that, "the jury was impressed by her artistic consistency and the intelligence and finesse with which Maria de Fatima integrated her musical roots with jazz. She has transformed Fado and the South American music tradition into her own intense and impassioned language."

Sebastian Altekamp
Sebastian Altekamp, geboren 1963 in Münster, studierte Jazzklavier am Hilversumer Musikkonservatorium. 1992 erwarb er die Diplome für Instrumentalpädagogik und Künstle- rische Reifeprüfung jeweils mit Auszeichnung. Seit 1988 ist der Pianist im Rahmen seiner Konzert- und Workshop- tätigkeit auf der internationalen Club- und Festivalszene mit diversen Projekten präsent. Seine Arbeit als Instrumen- talist/Komponist/Arrangeur ist in Form zahlreicher Radio-Mitschnitte und CD-Produktionen dokumentiert. Zusammen mit Saxophonist Wolfgang Bleibel erhielt er mit der Duo- formation „Songlines“ auf dem 17. Internationalen Jazzfestival Münster den „Westfalen-Jazz-Preis 1999“. „Songlines“ präsentiert sich zudem mit der Sängerin Maria de Fatima in einem „Jazz meets Fado“-Projekt. Er spielt(e) mit Musikern wie Benny Bailey, Jeff Hamilton, Ferdinand Povel, Hein van de Gein, Jiggs Whigham, John Goldsby und Nippy Noya. Als pianistischer Begleiter und musikalischer Leiter arbeitet(e) er im Bereich des Vocal-Jazz mit Adrienne West, Deborah Brown, Lis Harting, Lydia van Dam, Maria de Fatima, Romy Camerun und Silvia Droste. Sebastian Altekamp ist seit 1999 am ArtEZ Conservatorium in Enschede als Hauptfachdozent für Jazzklavier tätig und unterrichtet zudem an der Hoch- schule für Künste Bremen.

Nicolas Thys
Born in 1968, the Belgian Nicolas Thys is a much sought-after sideman, whether it be in his home city of Brussels, or during the eight years (1999-2007) that he lived in New York City. For this CD he has put together an exciting quintet, and composed pieces explicitly for this band. Pirouet CD listeners will recognise Thys from his work with pianist Bill Carrothers ("I Love Paris"). He has worked with usicians and groups spanning a variety of styles, including Mal Waldron, Zap Mama, Lee Konitz, and Brazilian Girls. Thys knows many musical worlds from the inside-out, and elements from these worlds flow finely back into his music.