Maria Sartori Spencer

Maria Sartori was born in Treviso (Italy) in 1960. She is the youngest among her siblings, Chiara and Francesco. Her mother, Lina, was a homemaker and her father, Giuseppe, was a pediatrician. The family lived in Vidor, a tiny village at the foot of the preAlps. Her childhood experiences shaped her way of feeling and looking at the world.

She started painting free hand when she was about six years old. She grew up listening to classical music, some jazz and the ethnic music her father would play for hours every day. She was introduced to the guitar and singing by her brother Francesco.

Maria was thrust into adulthood by the death of her father in 1980. She started working at Padova Riding Academy tending to horses. Being a shy and introverted young woman, she concentrated on nature and physical work. She also sought to find her inner voice as a person and as a musician.

This long process started then and still is not over. Always creative, Maria developed her ability to improvise when she had to listen to endless hours of commercial radio at work. Instead of tuning out the music, she learned that she could create many different melodies on the same harmony. She began her study of harmony when she was 22 years old.

By 1986 Maria was singing in two choirs: Coro lirico G. Verdi Padova directed by M. Dino Zambello and Accademia Bach directed by M. Antonio Domenighini. She attended Padova’s conservatory where she received some formal classical training under the guidance of tenor Fernando Opa. She passed the solfege, theory and harmony exams. At the same time, she started performing with local musicians in clubs around Padova. She learned American standards and Brasilian repertory.

Maria attended numerous jazz workshops in Italy and around Europe. Some of them were:

Gratz (Austria) Mark Murphy, 1987 Siena Jazz Enrico Rava, 1988 Trento Dave Holland on Polyrhythm, 1989 Comacchio (Italy) Betty Carter 1991

In the late 80s and 90s, Maria started a successful jazz vocal class at Gershwin School of Music in Padova. She invited singer Jay Clayton who gave an inspiring three day workshop at the school.

During this period, she traveled in Italy and Europe performing with some of the best European jazz musicians such as Simone Guiducci, Tino Derado, Nico Morelli, Ferenc Snétberger_Enzo Carpentieri, Massimo Manzi, Mauro Negri, Paolo Birro, Saverio Tasca and many others.

At this time, she was defining her personal style. She was a part of recording projects with guitarist Dario Volpi, drummer Massimo Giacomin and pianist Nico Morelli.

In January 1994, Maria came to New York City for a month and later that year, she decided to move there. She enjoyed the endless musical opportunities the city offered. For two years she regularly frequented Barry Harris classes and sang with many jazz musicians in clubs around the city. She sat in on a Betty Carter concert at Sob’s. She was also in shows and recorded with the group Feraba. Her musical curiosity exposed her to African music and tap dance as well.

Maria married Aaron Spencer in 1996. The couple have two children, Nicole and Miles. Since 1996, Maria has focused on her family and her music. She composes, practices and records at home with her husband. In 2005, Maria and Aaron were invited to participate in the recording of “Internet” Charnett Moffett last release.

2009 was an important year because Maria and Aaron started their own independent record label, Spencer World Music. They released their first CD “Secrets”. The CD’s 11 original tunes paint their musical journey through their years together. They’re currently working on their next CD.

Present and future projects include “15 Years Later”, a Maria and Nico Morelli duo. Show less