claudia acuna

Publication: The New York City Jazz Record
Author: Suzanne Lorge
Date: March 2013 issue

Claudia Acuña moved to New York City from Santiago, Chile in 1995. She’d been working as a singer with some success in her home country, but American jazz is what captured her imagination. She worked her way up through the New York club scene during the late ‘90s, impressing many influential personalities in the jazz world with her compelling voice and rhythmic acuity. Her first record deal came from Verve in 1999 and other companies and producers soon followed - MAXJAZZ, ZoHo Music and Marsalis Music. Acuña spoke with The New York City Jazz Record about how she turned her career visions into reality.

The New York City Jazz Record: What were your early days as an unknown jazz singer in New York like, newly arrived from a foreign country?

Claudia Acuña: My first years here, I didn’t know at the time much English. I couldn’t afford to go to school and I didn’t know how to apply for scholarships. So I started going a lot to places like Smalls, where I met [pianist] Harry Whitaker, an amazing musician and composer. We used to get together almost every day at Smalls and we’d just do repertoire or arrangements. He was the first one to encourage me to arrange and write.

TNYCJR: Who were your other teachers and mentors?

CA: I participated in the workshops of Barry Harris and one of the first drummers I worked with, Jeff Ballard, used to teach me. Then I worked with people like Jason Lindner, who became a very strong collaborator. We co-wrote songs and worked consistently for almost 12 to 13 years. I also had the fortune [to meet] people with so much history, like Frank Hewitt, Jimmy Lovelace and Stanley Turrentine. And also to work with [bassist] Avishai Cohen and Avi Leibowitz and Pablo Ziegler - it just doesn’t stop. It’s a beautiful journey of having the honor and blessings and working with people who have been very patient and generous. Read more »

Publication: The Advocate
Author: Allison Taylor
Date: January 22, 2013

Singer/songwriter Claudia Acuña has been performing well over 20 years, starting out in her native Chile. It was there her desire to become a performer developed and was nurtured by those around her.

“I’ve never wanted to do anything else,” Acuña said. “I was always a part of a choir or tried to join any artistic group at school. So many people helped me find opportunities to just sing.”

Acuña admits to hearing artists like Erroll Garner and being intrigued by the music even before she knew that the music was called jazz.

“I was attracted to jazz because of the freedom of it,” Acuña explained. “It’s the only form of music where so many influences combine to make one sound. It’s like a cake.” Read more »

Publication: Jazz Beyond Jazz
Author: Howard Mandel
Date: January 14, 2013

The second weekend of January is now the fullest on NYC’s jazz calendar, with continuation of the high energy, two-night showcase Winter Jazzfest in multiple Greenwich Village venues, and aspirational ensembles elsewhere playing (they hope) for booking agents and curators attending the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters convention. Having responsibilities of my own Friday and Saturday after the Jazz Connect conference (held in conjunction with APAP), I had to limit my actual listening — but took in the start of pianist Monty Alexander’s Harlem-Kingston Express plus tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland’s Twi-Life, the Revive Big Band, singer Claudia Acuña and solo saxophonist Colin Stetson as well as vocalist Macy Gray with saxman David Murray’s Big Band at Iridium in midtown.

…

Ms. Acuña, who preceded Stetson at the Bitter End — best known as a folkie hangout — is a beguiling Chilean-born- and-raised vocalist and songwriter. She sings mostly in Spanish, which I don’t speak, but her voice is warm, her delivery is artful and confident, her stage manner casually dramatic and very inviting. Read more »

Publication: New York Times ArtsBeat
Author: Nate Chinen
Date: January 12, 2013

Publication: WHYY Newsworks
Author: Jen A. Miller
Date: November 7, 2012

In August 2005, Michael Kline and his son packed up their belongings and drove straight through the night from New Orleans to Cape May, N.J.

The morning after they arrived in N.J., Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. 

“Maybe I’m bringing them with me,” he said after living through both Hurricanes Irene and Sandy in Cape May, where Kline had spent his childhood summers and lived full time from 1983 to 1992.

He also hopes he’ll bring some positive New Orleans history and flavor to the Jersey Shore with the first Exit Zero International Jazz Festival, which will take place in Cape May this weekend.

While the town was largely spared Sandy’s wrath, the musicians playing in the festival have not. Read more »

A portrait of Marsalis Music artist Claudia Acuña will be featured in a collection of thirty photographs curated to provide an overview of the evolution of jazz across the world at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to celebrate the inauguration of International Jazz Day on April 30, 2012. Curated by the Smithsonian’s John Hasse, Claudia’s photo will be featured alongside photographs of jazz greats including Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. UNESCO describes International Jazz Day as “intended to raise awareness in the international community of the virtues of jazz as an educational tool, and a force for peace, unity, dialogue and enhanced cooperation among people.” For more information about International Jazz Day and activities happening to mark the Day in Paris and around the globe, please visit the UNESCO website. Read more »

Publication: World Music Blog
Author: Michal Shapiro
Date: August 5, 2011

Visit the World Music Blog to watch a video of Claudia performing live!

Although Claudia Acuña is a full fledged jazz singer, her repertoire still reflects her Chilean origins, and she presented several jazz settings of songs from its folk heritage.

“El Cigaritto” is by the iconic songwriter Victor Hara, whose work is almost synonymous with the protest songs of the Nuevo Cancion movement that arose in Chile in the 1970’s. Read more »

Publication:                      DCist
Author: Sriram Gopal
Date: June 10, 2011

Jazz on the National Mall, taking place on Sunday, is the DC Jazz Festival’s showcase event. The concert was left out of last year’s program due to budget shortfalls caused by the recent economic downturn, but two years ago the festival held a two-day affair featuring musicians from New Orleans which drew 80,000 people. This year’s show is limited to a single day, but nonetheless features an all-star lineup, including Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa, Frédéric Yonnet, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, headliner Eddie Palmieri’s All-Star Salsa Orchestra and rising Latin jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña.

“You get a chance to hang out with artists you admire and respect. I love that part of it,” Acuña said of playing festivals like this. “And there’s always a great energy and everyone’s so sweet.”

Acuña’s career has reached the point where she performs regularly in front of large audiences, such as the one that will likely be hearing her on Sunday. However, she does not alter her approach, whether she is performing on a large outdoor stage or in a small club. Read more »