Sangiolo (San-ge'-olo) n - Italian. translation: of angels .June 2002 Fueled by her pure, heart warming vocals and deft guitar playing, Maria Sangiolo’s latest release, The Way We Live (Raging River Records), is her most intimate collection of keenly crafted songs to date, showcasing her range of writing styles from light-hearted, melancholic ballads to rich narratives in the traditional folk form to fun, contemporary folk.  Produced by award winning guitarist Jim Henry (Blue Earth), joined by Richard Gates, Gideon Freudmann and Cheryl Hoenemeyer, The Way We Live’s sparse instrumentation highlights her engaging, pristine vocals

Born and raised in Stoughton on the south shore of Massachusetts, now residing in Northeastern Connecticut, Sangiolo’s been singing since she could hear the angel of music riding in the backseat of her parent’s blue chevy wagon as a young child.  Formal training on the violin led her to the discovery of her voice and resulted in private guitar lessons and voices lessons at the New England Conservatory of Music in high school.  It wasn’t until after she graduated from college that she learned of the acoustic music scene in the Boston area and began performing her own songs in 1989.   While she grew up listening to the Beatles, Cat Stevens , Carole King and James Taylor, Townes Van Zandt’s  To Live is To Fly remains one of her favorite songs to cover.

On the strength of her first recording, Eyes of the Heart (Raging River Records 1993), Maria had local Boston radio station WUMB FM name her in the most albums played list and the Boston Globe said “Hometown singer soars in her debut album,”…  “Every so often a knockout new voice emerges….”  Her sophomore release, Follow Your Own Road (Signature Sounds 1996), landed her on the prestigious independent label Signature Sounds and launched her career nationally with an aggressive touring schedule and heavy airplay to make her name on the folk charts at college stations throughout the US and abroad.  But it was Blue Earth (Signature Sounds 1998) that garnered national praise, ‘…crowning achievement…exquisite fingerpicking…such a rich voice…songs that are sturdy clear and accessible.’

Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Emmy Lou Harris are just three of the many powerful female performers who got their start singing their songs in small intimate folk clubs.  American music has never seen so many women holding the reins to listeners musical preferences.  Maria Sangiolo has been compared to these women, and while she is not yet a household name, her new release The Way We Live, is soon to be on the tongues of music lovers everywhere.  Her fifth recording, The Way We Live, is her bravest collection of original material to date.  Her previous CD, Blue Earth (Signature Sounds), showcased her shimmering vocals on 6 cover tunes and 6 originals.  This time around, it’s Maria’s voice and her pen that sparkle.  The Way We Live’s  barebones sound is rooted in tradition and doesn’t get in the way of the songs or Sangiolo’s voice, ‘a pure, honest soprano, that makes you believe everything she sings.’  The Boston Globe

Her ode to her father’s experience in World War II, Twenty-Five Missions tells his story in painstaking detail and cuts right to the heart of the matter:  “My father was a gunner in the second world war,  flew twenty-five missions in the belly of a B-24.  He came home with medals after the victory, he came home with an injury nobody could see.”  In Eternally, she ponders mortality, “Sitting here in this new home, with a child who makes our hearts so young, giving her wings and letting her go, these are the sacred seeds we sow.”   In Bittersweet, Sangiolo returns to nature to express her sorrow, “you twisted old tree, you can’t even grieve, birds can’t fly or nest inside, you twisted old tree.”  Ginny’s Garden, speaks of a more wistful and hopeful return of spring, “It’s springtime again in Ginny’s Garden, be careful where you step, you never know what’s coming up.”  Once again, it’s a Texas songwriter, Hugh Moffatt, that rounds out the collection with a cover tune, Money, Too, “I want you and money, too.”

I love the way we live.   Sangiolo and her husband own the Vanilla Bean Café, a full service restaurant and music venue in Pomfret, CT.  The couple have carved out a life living in rural New England.  Raising their daughter together, supporting other artists has also become a focus of their lives playing host to national and regional acts in the living room of the restaurant on Saturday nights.

Sangiolo has shared the stage with Patty Larkin, Cheryl Wheeler, Chris Smither, John Gorka and Livingston Taylor, to name a few.  She enjoys return engagements to all the favorite folk clubs on the national circuit, Club Passim, The Iron Horse, The Freight and Salvage and Eddie’s Attic, to name a few.  Her work thus far spans 14 years and four recordings, headlining her own shows now for the past 10 years. The Way We Live will be released in the fall of 2002 on Raging River Records.

Contact:  Management/Booking: Maria Sangiolo, maria@mariasangiolo.com  (860)974-1691

PO Box 285 Pomfret, CT  06258.  www.mariasangiolo.com