Chilean born songstress Claudia Acuña has delved deep into her soul and brought forth her most personal and creative album to date with En Este Momento (At This Moment) on Marsalis Music. This inspired 10 song collection, produced by acclaimed saxophonist and label head Branford Marsalis, showcases Acuña’s unparalleled talent for fusing maximum emotion into both Spanish and English lyrics while mastering the “essential elements of jazz with startling effectiveness” (The Los Angeles Times). Her new CD and Marsalis Music debut will be in stores April 7th with concert dates in selected cities across the U.S.
A New York City resident since 1995 who remains committed to her Chilean heritage, Acuña has fashioned En Este Momento with lyrics in both English and Spanish. Her versatility, and her command of both jazz and Latin rhythms, set Acuña apart from other vocalists of jazz’s new generation. “I’ve always dreamed of being a singer, and when I discovered jazz and the greatest jazz singers I could not believe the freedom they could find in every song,” Acuña explains. “I love jazz’s tradition, but I always promised myself that my music would pay tribute to who I am, which is why all of my albums contain at least one song from South America.”
En Este Momento shows Claudia Acuña collaborating with a stellar line-up of musicians who have formed a strong bond over the past decade, including Jason Lindner (piano), Juancho Herrera (guitar/mandolin), Omer Avital (bass), and Clarence Penn (drums, cajon, percussion). Additional guests Edgardo “Yayo” Serko (cajon, bombo leguero, palmas) and Branford Marsalis (soprano saxophone) contribute extra spice to the mix. To pay homage to her roots, Claudia chose several Spanish-language classics such as the hauntingly beautiful “La Mentira,” written by Alvaro Carrillo Alarcon, and three songs by Victor Jara, who has been called the Bob Dylan of Chile . She effortlessly glides through her own interpretation of the upbeat “Sueño Contigo” by Uruguayan singer and percussionist Ruben Rada, and shows her growing confidence as lyricist and co-composer of two songs “Tulum” and “That’s What They Say.” “I always promised myself that I would honor my background,” she says, “and I’ve gone from the point where there were always one or two songs in Spanish to where there are always one or two in English. But I don’t want to lock myself into a formula because my growth has been organic, like a seed that produces more leaves, branches and flowers with each year.”
Putting her own stamp on the worldwide jazz scene with her assured, sensuous alto, Claudia Acuña inspires passion and a sense of heritage on En Este Momento. Don’t miss a chance to hear this powerful disc, and to see this amazing vocalist in a city near you.
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