Luna by Claudia Acuna

26 Jan

Written by Glenn Astarita
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This Chilean diva started out crooning folk and pop music. Eventually she landed in New York City, armed with a newfound thirst for jazz. She got involved in jam sessions while subsequently becoming a coat check girl at the "Blue Note" club, where she sang in front of the great jazz vocalist Betty Carter. Hence, she eventually signed with Verve Records resulting in two acclaimed outings. This release jazz with pianist Jason Lindner and others, signifies her debut for the MAXJAZZ record label.

The impetus for this recording - as stated in the CD notes - resides within Ms. Acuna’s personal aspects rooted within the forces of music. Anchored by the record label’s crystalline audio engineering, Ms Acuna’s warm, alto voice quietly soars throughout these melodically hued works. She garners superb support from the quintet, through various rhythmic interludes. In addition, many of these works, largely sung in Spanish, emit flotation-like attributes. Occasionally, the vocalist harmonizes with the soloists in alternating fashion. However, she spins a ballad in a convincing manner -where romance and the spirit of life, seemingly form a common bond.

The band mixes it up rather nicely amid climactically induced modifications of pitch and meter. Overall, Ms Acuna injects a sleek edge into many of these pieces that often corroborate her motivations for this production. Simply put, it’s a deeply personalized and rather moving sojourn into a musical frontier that is quixotic and undeniably grooving!

Additional Info

Artist / Group Name: Claudia Acuna
CD Title: Luna
Genre: Jazz Vocals
Year Released: 2004
Record Label: MAXJAZZ - Vocal Series
Musicians: Claudia Acuna (vocals), Jason Lindner (piano & Fender Rhodes), John Benitez (bass), Gene Jackson (drums), Luisito Quintero (percussion), Jimmy Greene (soprano sax)
Label Website: http://www.maxjazz.com
Rating: Three Stars