Claudia Acuña News

Washington Post Reviews "En Este Momento"

Mike Joyce, Washington Post

Kindrid spirits: Elis Regina, Abbey Lincoln, Victor Jara
Show: Tuesday at Blues Alley. Shows start at 8 and 10p.m.

With her keen jazz sensibilities and improvisational finesse, acclaimed Chilean singer-songwriter Claudia Acuña personalizes pop and jazz standards with great ease. On “En Este Moment,” however, Acuña turns her attention to mostly Spanish-language material: original songs as well as contributions by Chilean poet Victor Jara, Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla and others. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on November 13th, 2009 — 01:00am

New York Times Recommends Claudia's Upcoming Performances

Nate Chinen, New York Times

Claudia Acuña (Friday through Sunday)
“En Este Momento” (Marsalis Music) is the most rewarding album by this Chilean jazz singer in some time. Offering original material and songs by the Chilean singer-songwriter Victor Jara (among others), Ms. Acuña radiates ardor and acuity, connecting easily with a band that includes the guitarist Juancho Herrera, who reappears here. At 7:30 and 9:30p.m., with an 11:30 set on Friday and Saturday, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan.

Submitted by crwadmin on November 13th, 2009 — 01:00am

Claudia Acuña: Opening a new door in her charmed career

Mel Minter, alibi.com

“Oh, you have a dog! Oh. I want a dog so bad,” vocalist Claudia Acuña says after hearing the household canine on the other end of the phone, Rocky, barking at a passing pickup.

Learning that Rocky is a black Lab / Shepherd cross, she instantly snaps, “I hate you,” and dissolves into giggles. “Labradors are one of my favorites.”

Acuña’s heart sits close to the surface, and if it’s touched, her heart leaps up into her luscious alto—where it resides throughout her latest CD, En Este Momento (Marsalis Records). Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on October 30th, 2009 — 12:00am

Feeling a global influence

Fernando Gonzalez, alibi.com

As music director of Machito and his Afro-Cubans in the 1940s, the late Cuban saxophonist and bandleader Mario Bauzá was a key figure in the development of what came to be known as Latin jazz. Yet, he often railed against the term.

“I don’t know what they’re talking about when people talk about Latin jazz,” he would say impatiently. “Nobody is playing Latin jazz. What they are playing is Afro-Cuban jazz.”

Then, point made, he would allow exceptions. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on October 4th, 2009 — 12:00am

Promising Chilean-born singer finds her voice; Claudia Acuña at The Jazz Showcase

Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

Even a decade ago, when the Chilean-born singer Claudia Acuña was launching her recording career, she sounded like nobody else in jazz. The South American sensibility that colored everything she sang, as well as the sometimes smoldering, sometimes imploring quality of her vocals made her an emerging artist of unmistakable promise.

But now, seasoned by uncounted performances around the world and the various hard knocks that inevitably come with a career in music, Acuña has matured into one of the most searing jazz vocalists of the under-40 generation. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on September 26th, 2009 — 12:00am