By Terry Perkins
The title of Claudia Acuña's debut recording on the Verve label, Wind from the South, is an apt description of the warm, refreshing, Latin-tinged style Acuña brings to the jazz vocal scene. But unlike many of the new generation of Latin artists who hail from Cuba (Gonzalo Rubalcaba), Puerto Rico (David Sanchez) and Central America (Panama's Danilo Perez), Acuña come from much farther south Chile.
After developing her skills in Santiago jazz clubs, she decided to make the move to New York City in 1995. Acuña became a regular on the club circuit at venues like Cleopatra's Needle, the Blue Note, Visiones and Small's, sometimes hitting as many as four jam sessions a night and often waiting until 5 or 6 a.m. for the chance to sit in. Her perseverance paid off, and she became a regular at Small's, the 10th Street club that was rapidly developing a reputation as an incubator of some of the top young talent on the New York City scene. Acuña met and performed with the likes of pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Avishai Cohen, drummer Jeff Ballard, sax player Greg Tardy, trombone player Avi Leibovitch, trumpeter Russell Gunn and a host of other Small's regulars.
Verve vice president Richard Seidel, and he decided to check out Acuña in performance. As other recording labels began to take interest in Acuña, Verve decided to act, and offered Acuña a recording contract in 1999.
Acuña has built on the strong foundation of Wind from the South, appearing at clubs on the East and West coasts and working the European festival circuit. She's gained high praise from critics in the process. Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times says, "Acuña is a natural, blessed with honey-rich sound and an unerring sense of phrasing."
But perhaps the ultimate compliment for Acuña's talent comes from another singer, the great Abbey Lincoln, who states, "It's encouraging to know that Claudia Acuña is here. She sings in the tradition of the great ones. Her sound is her own."
AAJ: In previous interviews, you've indicated that you were attracted to singing from a very early age. But what focused you on becoming a jazz signer?
CA: For as long as I can remember, when I was singing in a school group or at church, I would always start to improvise instead of just singing the notes on the page. And when I started to sing other things, the teachers would not be so happy. I heard records by frank Sinatra and other singers at home, but when I first heard an album with Errol garner on piano, and then Sarah Vaughan's Live in Japan album, I thought, this is what I needed to find.
AAJ: When you decided to move from your hometown of Conception to Santiago, did you have a problem breaking in to the jazz scene there?
CA: Well, in the beginning I had some problems with my family, because at first they didn't want me to be a musician. But I knew I wanted to be a jazz singer, so when I finished high school, I moved to Santiago.
In Concepción (Chile), I had already been singing some jazz with a group that was doing a fusion thing. That was the closest I could find at home to what I really wanted to sing. But working with that group turned out to be a big help. Because when I went to Santiago, I decided to go to this one jazz club that had a radio program a live music broadcast. And someone knew about me from Conception and they told me they had to have me sing in the jam session that was going to be broadcast. They put me with this wonderful piano player five minutes before the start of the show, and he knew the chords for the song I wanted to sing, "Cry Me A River."
It was so funny. A friend ran across the street to buy me some clothes, because I came in to the club in jeans and sneakers. But everything worked out. When we went on stage we blew everyone's mind because it sounded great. And that was the opportunity I needed to immediately get into the Santiago jazz scene.
AAJ: It had to be a very tough decision to make the move from your native country to New York City and the extremely competitive jazz scene there.
CA: I had done research in jazz, and New York City kept coming up. So I had the desire to go there if I ever got the chance. But I didn't feel ready. My intuition told me I wasn't, so I just felt I would know when I was ready to go. One day about six years ago, I just woke up and said, "I'm going this year." And I did. A lot of people in Chile thought I would be back in six months. But I thought even if I did go back, at least I tried.
And looking back, I was so naïve when I first came to New York. My only goals were to learn the language, go to the Village Vanguard because I knew Coltrane and Miles and Bill Evans had played there and to try to be in jam sessions. I never thought about getting a record deal. So although it was hard to get into the jazz scene, I fell in love with the city and I believed it embraced me. I believe that the city decides who stays and who goesÃÂ
and I'm still here!
AAJ: A New York City club that was especially influential for you was Small's. Talk about the importance of that place in your musical development.
CA: That place was very special for me. I first went to Small's within two weeks of coming here, and I really liked it. I had my family then. I met new friends and many of the musicians who would end up being in my first band. It was my home.
AAJ: One of the jobs you had while coming up on the music scene was at the Blue Note club. That's how you met Betty Carter. How did that happen?
CA: I worked as the coat check girl at the club for awhile, and Betty Carter was part of a Blue Note anniversary party. She put together a lot of well-known musicians and also a lot of younger musicians for a big jam session, and it turned out I knew a lot of them. I was just watching and enjoying the music, and they kept telling me I should sit in. I told them I couldn't do that because Betty didn't know me. I'm not aggressive that way I've always had a lot of respect for the musicians on stage, and felt if it was the right time to go up and sing, I would. But it had to be the right time.
Finally, it was the end of the night, and some friends were playing, and some of them came and brought me out of the coat room up to the stage, saying over the mike that there was one more performer a singer. So I sat in and I was shaking. I thought I was going to get fired, but afterward, Betty came up to me and said, "Surprise, surprise, surprise. The coat check girl can sing." We talked and she was a great person -- very cool and a unique lady.
I've been very blessed with the chance to meet certain musicians who have been important to the history of the music, and their stories make me want to make my own contributions.
AAJ: After you signed a recording contract with Verve, you released Wind from the South in last year. Were you pleased with the way that recording turned out?
CA: I was so hyper at the sessions, but I decided I just wanted to present myself very honestly with music that said this is who I am. I wanted to document where I was musically at that time as well as the five years in New York City that it took me to get there. Everyone on that record was part of my journey and I'm very happy with it.
AAJ: You just finished work on a new recording for Verve that should be out in a few months. It's called Rhythm of Life and you use a string quartet on some cuts and play with musicians like Jeff Watts, Dave Holland and Billy Childs. How did you come up with the concept for this new recording?
CA: If you know Claudia Acuna, you know that I already have four recordings in my mind all the time. I'm always thinking about music. Right after I finished the first album, I knew I wanted strings on the next one. As we got closer to the recording dates, I met with Billy and worked with Jason (Lindner) to build the project. And the ideas I started with became stronger and stronger. I'm extremely proud of the new record.
AAJ: Speaking of Jason Lindner, he'll be accompanying you on this tour along with Avi Leibovitch on trombone, Dwayne Bruno on bass and Gene Jackson on drums. Could you talk a little about each of them?
CA: Jason that's my main man. We have extremely good communication on stage. We read each other -- before he plays a note or I open my mouth. His approach to the music is very organic and he's extremely sensitive to the direction of the music. And he's very strong musically. He's more than just an accompanist for a singer he's rhythmically strong, always exciting to hear and never boring. He's an incredible composer and arranger and also my best friend.
Avi has a great sound on trombone, and I think that blend of his sound with my voice is wonderful. I love the way I can interact with his trombone to create voicings. You know, for many years I didn't appreciate the trombone, but then someone gave me an album by J.J. Johnson. I went on my knees and rejected everything I had ever thought about the trombone. Now I love it and Avi's trombone is really part of my sound.
I've been working with Dwayne and Gene for about a year-and-a-half, and I couldn't be more blessed. Both are incredible musicians. Dwayne is working with Roy Hargrove and Roy Haynes, and Gene has done great things with Herbie (Hancock) and Dianne Reeves.
I love to be on the road playing with musicians like these. When you're playing, you're creating and giving so much, and people also give back to you when they enjoy it. Music is my healing spirit and protection from the day I was born and maybe even before that.
