Maria is a 1995 critically acclaimed album by Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 singer and songwriter Jane Siberry. It was her first album not to include any musical contributions from longtime collaborators such as Ken Myhr, John Switzer and Rebecca Jenkins

Rebecca Jenkins

-Acting:She had starring roles in the 1990s CBC series Black Harbour, and the films Bye Bye Blues, Marion Bridge, Wilby Wonderful, Whole New Thing, South of Wawa and Supervolcano. She also had a supporting role in the 1992 film Bob Roberts, as Dolores Perrigrew...

.

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

wrote about Maria:
"[H]ot damn, the girl's back in the driver's seat with Maria...This is vintage Siberry: scissor-kicking around the soul's messiest spots in search of anything hinting toward redemption... That's exactly what this album's about: the pull of life. Not specifically the good or the bad or the ugly but just the pull and the subsequent release" http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/janesiberry/albums/album/96844/review/5940980/maria

The album ends with "Oh My My," a 20 minute-plus ode that gathers the themes from the entire album. "[I]n this heap of Siberjazz you realize that everything that has arisen on Maria has indeed converged and that you've actually been led on an unforgettable walk in a garden facing fall with a tour guide who's sure-footed in her wobbly pace. Awesome" http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/janesiberry/albums/album/96844/review/5940980/maria

Maria was her last major label album. In 1996, Siberry started her own independent record label, Sheeba Records

Sheeba Records

Sheeba Records is a Canadian independent record label, owned and operated by Jane Siberry.Siberry established Sheeba to release her albums following the end of her contract with Reprise Records in 1996...

, and has released all of her subsequent recordings on that imprint.

Track listing

All songs by Siberry, except "Would You Go?" by Siberry and Tim Ray.

1. "Maria" (4:25)
2. "See the Child" (6:24)
3. "Honey Bee" (4:17)
4. "Caravan" (7:30)
5. "Lovin' Cup" (3:39)
6. "Begat Begat" (6:33)
7. "Goodbye Sweet Pumpkinhead" (4:35)
8. "Would You Go?" (7:20)
9. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (1:58)
10. "Oh My My" (20:15)

Personnel

• Jane Siberry - Vocals, Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , Lyrics
  Lyrics
  Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
  
  , Producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  

with

• Tim Ray - Piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Brian Blade
  Brian Blade
  Brian Blade in Shreveport, Louisiana is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter.-Early years:...
  
   - Drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s
• Christoper Thomas - Double Bass
  Double bass
  The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
  
  
• David Travers-Smith - Trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  
• Ian McLauchlan - Percussion
• Ritesh Das - Tabla
  Tabla
  The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
  
  
• George Koller - Sitar
  Sitar
  The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
  
  , Esraj
  Esraj
  The esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas...
  
  
• Cullen Singers

and

• David Travers-Smith - recording engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  
• Jeff Elliot - assistant engineer
• Ormond Jobim - co-engineer
• Michael Brooke - mixes
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Gregory Calbi - mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Frank Ockenfels 3 - colour photos
• Trevor Hughes - studio photos
• Say-Lay-Pho - artwork design
• Wyatt Mitchell - design co-ordination