Biography
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Born
3 July 1971 (age 52)
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Born In
Santiago, Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile
A pure, compelling and original voice hailed by the LA Times as an "instrument of wonder", Chilean singer/songwriter/arranger CLAUDIA ACUÑA draws upon the culture of her homeland by fusing Latin rhythms with her instinctive jazz sensibilities. Singing mostly in her mother tongue, Acuña makes it clear that music crosses all barriers - particularly when sung with her distinctive brand of authentic emotion.
Born in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, Chile, Acuña began singing Chilean folk/pop, rock, fusion and opera, drawing inspiration from Chilean music pioneers Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. At the age of 15 she discovered her first "outside" musical model: Frank Sinatra. Acuña finally "felt at home" when she heard the voices of Sinatra, Erroll Garner and Sarah Vaughan.
Moving to Santiago in 1991, she immediately gravitated to the local musicians and soon made a name for herself on the jazz scene, being featured on the club's live radio broadcast while sitting in with visiting musicians Wynton Marsalis, Michel Petrucciani, Joe Lovano and Danilo Perez. In 1995 Acuña made the move to New York City to fulfill her dreams, where she immediately became a fixture at local jam sessions and stints at infamous New York haunts with pianist Harry Whitaker at Arturo's and guitarist Ron Affif at the Zinc Bar. It was at the Greenwich Village hotbed of up-and-coming talent, Small's, where Acuña befriended pianist Jason Lindner, her closest collaborator to this day.
Claudia has recorded, toured and performed with Tom Harrell, Billy Childs, George Benson, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Antonio Hart, Danilo Perez, Avishai Cohen, Avi Leibovich, Jeff Ballard, Guillermo Klein, Louis Vega/Masters at Work, Dana Leong, David Gilmore, Makoto Ozone, Arturo O'Farrill, Pablo Ziegler, Trio de Paz and was most recently featured on Amanecer, the latest release from Marsalis Music recording artist Joey Calderazzo
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