Claudia Acuña

Born in Santiago and raised in Concepción, Acuña forged a path on the South American jazz scene by her early 20s, eventually arriving in New York by the mid 1990s, where she found ready collaborators in pianists Jason Lindner, Harry Whitaker, Arturo O'Farrill, Guillermo Klein, and bassist Avishai Cohen, who co-produced her 2000 Verve Records debut Wind From the South.

Her five albums as a leader established Acuña as a creative force, from 2002’s Rhythm of Life (Verve) and 2004’s Luna (MaxJazz) though 2008’s In These Shoes (Zoho Music) and 2009’s En Este Momento (Marsalis Music). Created in collaboration with Colombian-born guitarist, producer, and composer Juancho Herrera, Turning Pages represents a new creative leap for Acuña.

Whether putting her stamp on popular Latin American ballads, reimagining jazz standards from a South American perspective, or bringing infusing Afro-Caribbean material with a wide rhythmic sensibility, Acuña stands out as a passionate and emotionally incisive singer who represents “an effortless blend of jazz tradition and up-to-the-minute Latin phraseology” (Variety).