Claudia Acuña (July 31, 1971, Santiago) is a Chilean jazz vocalist, songwriter, and arranger.

Biography

Born July 3 1971 in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and raised in Concepcion, she was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and opera, by

Victor Jara The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal and a ...

. Her attention turned to American popular music and jazz at the age of 15, when she first heard

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, Erroll Garner and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

. Returning to Santiago in 1991, she quickly gained prominence on the local jazz scene through live performances and radio broadcasts with visiting artists. In 1995, Acuña moved to New York City and began performing at jam sessions and clubs including the Zinc Bar and Smalls. She also performed with her own band at the famous Jazz Gallery. Among the many musical associates she met in this period was pianist/composer

Jason Lindner Jason Lindner (born February 1, 1973) is an American pianist, keyboardist, synthesist, sound designer, composer, arranger and producer. Life and career Lindner was brought up in Brooklyn, New York City.Matzner, Frank A. (August 18, 2014"Jason Li ...

, who became and has remained her musical director. Her debut album, ''Wind from the South'', was released in 1999 on

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

, followed by ''Rhythm of Life'' in 2001 and ''Luna'' in 2004. Acuña's first recording on the Marsalis Music label, ''En Este Momento'', was released in 2009. She has also been featured on various recordings with Peck Allmond,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

, Joey Calderazzo, Avishai Cohen, Mark Elf,

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

, Antonio Hart, Arturo O'Farrill and Guillermo Klein. Acuña has been named co-curator of a Chilean music festival that took place in January 2009. She is also the spokesperson for World Vision Chile, an international Christian relief and development organization that specializes in child-focused development programs. One of Acuña's covers of the Antonio Carlos Jobim song "Suddenly" was featured on the original motion picture soundtrack from Verve Records for the movie '' Bossa Nova''. In 2001 she recorded a single with House producers MKL and Soy Sos of 3 Generations Walking called "Slavery Days" which gained her substantial exposure outside of the jazz medium. Claudia is signed to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based record label, Marsalis Music.

Discography

As leader

* ''Wind from the South'' ( Verve, 2000) * ''Rhythm of Life'' (Verve, 2002) * ''Luna'' ( Maxjazz, 2004) * ''En Este Momento'' ( Marsalis Music, 2009) * ''Kalimba Collage'' with Kenny Wollesen (Soniculture, 2009) * ''Turning Pages'' (Plaza, 2019) * ''Duo'' ( Ropeadope, 2022)

As guest

* Avishai Cohen, ''

Adama Adama ( Oromo: ', Amharic: አዳማ), formerly Nazreth (), is one of the cities of Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, ...

'' ( Stretch, 1998) * Guillermo Klein, ''Los Guachos II'' ( Sunnyside, 1999) * Avishai Cohen, ''Colors'' (Stretch, 2000) *

, '' Absolute Benson'' (Verve, 2000) * Danilo Pérez, ''Motherland'' (Verve, 2000) *

, ''Wise Children'' (Bluebird/Arista, 2003) *

Little Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer of Puerto Ricans in the United States, Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production ...

, ''Elements of Life'' (Cutting Edge, 2003) * David Gilmore, ''Unified Presence'' (RKM Music, 2006) * Joey Calderazzo, '' Amanecer'' (Marsalis Music, 2007) *

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored ...

, ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

'' ( Mack Avenue, 2017) * Willie Jones III, ''The Next Phase'' ( WJ3, 2009) *

, ''Now vs Now'' (Anzic, 2009) * Fabrizio Sotti, ''Inner Dance '' (E1/Sotti Entertainment, 2010) * David Gilmore, ''Numerology:Live at Jazz Standard'' (Evolutionary Music, 2012) * Fabrizio Sotti, '' Right Now'' (Red River Entertainment, 2013) * Susie Ibarra, ''Perception'' (Decibel Collective, 2018)

Biography

Discography

As leader

As guest

References

External links