Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
Chilean-born vocalist Claudia Acuña has recorded En Este Momento (At This Moment) for Marsalis Music, set for an April 7 release. This 10 song collection, produced by Branford Marsalis, showcases Acuña’s talent for fusing maximum emotion into both Spanish and English lyrics.
A New York City resident since 1995, Acuña has fashioned En Este Momento with lyrics in English and Spanish. 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 said. “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 Acuña collaborating with a lineup 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 “La Mentira,” written by Alvaro Carrillo Alarcon, and three songs by Victor Jara, who has been called the Bob Dylan of Chile. “I always promised myself that I would honor my background,” she said, “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.”
To listen to the first single from the album, “Tulum,” click here.
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
