Tania Maria (born May 9, 1948)[2] is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English.

Born in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil,[2] Tania Maria began playing the piano at the age of seven, became a leader at the age of 13, when her band of professional musicians, organized by her father, won first prize in a local music contest and went on to play for dances, in clubs and on the radio.

Her father, a metal worker and a gifted guitarist and singer, had encouraged her to study piano so that she could play in his weekend jam sessions, where she first absorbed the rhythms and melodies of samba, jazz, pop music and Brazilian chorinho.

A year later, in 1984, her Love Explosion album contained the track Deep Cove View which was promoted by Robbie Vincent on his late Sunday night soul shows on Radio 1.

[2] Maria has played virtually every important jazz festival in the world and has appeared on countless television and radio programmes.