Jazz Singer Claudia Acuña Salutes International Women's Day

By John Roos

As someone who loves and writes about live music, I am championing the joy of streaming live performances during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was much to my delight earlier this week to discover on the Freight & Salvage website that Chilean-born jazz singer-songwriter Claudia Acuña will be streaming a 2-part concert series this Saturday in celebration of Monday’s International Women’s Day.

The forthcoming event will consist of two distinct shows titled Wind from the South and the The Art of Bolero. Both programs will feature special guests and be broadcast from the historic opera house at the Northampton Academy of Music in Massachusetts. Wind from the South will draw songs from throughout Acuña’s career, while The Art of Bolero focuses on her interpretation of traditional songs and a tribute to the late Armando Manzanero, along with some more contemporary material.

In her early-20’s, Acuña left Concepcion for New York City in 1995 and the ambitious yet untrained Acuña joined a wave of talented Latin American musicians making noise in small clubs in and around Greenwich Village. Noteworthy collaborations ensued with the likes of George Benson, Tom Harrell, Jason Lindner, Arturo O’Farrell and Avishai Cohen, who went on to co-produce Acuña’s critically-praised debut, 2000’s Wind from the South, the first original release by a Latin artist on the legendary Verve record label.

Her first five albums on a series of labels established Acuña as a wide-ranging creative force whose musical stylings included Latin American balladry, jazz, pop standards, folk-rock and nueva canción. Mixing socio-political themes with personal revelations, Acuna embraces life with a fierce devotion and optimism, as found in a touching love song she wrote during pregnancy for her son (“Futuro”) and a female-powered anthem (“Hey”) that is perfect for the upcoming International Women’s Day festivities. (For a live performance of “Hey,” click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cR5xJkqjQ0.)

“We’ve been fighting over and over for the same things,” said Acuña during a recent phone interview, “and I feel compelled to speak out because I have a platform. We should and can do better as a society to treat women, and all human beings, with the dignity and respect that we all deserve. We’ve still got a long way to go but we’ll get there if we keep pushing.”

Her latest album, Turning Pages, was a Latin Grammy Nominee for Best jazz Album 2019, and noteworthy as the only female nominated in her category. Acuña wrote or co-wrote most of the songs—sung in both Spanish and English--which share a highly-personal outlook and vibe. She decided to look inward for inspiration following an extended hiatus from recording to raise her son. Buoyed by Acuña’s soulful contralto, this 9-song collection is richly-textured and shines with the glow of a playful yet maturing self-confidence.

Another ingredient was some quiet creative space because as Acuña puts it: "Silence is a beautiful thing. It can help create a lot of (musical) notes."

“It took me 10 years to come back due to personal reasons and I am totally unapologetic on this album because each song means so much to me,” continued Acuña, whose influences include John Coltrane, Abbey Lincoln, Les Morgan, Erroll Garner, Chick Corea, Victor Jara and Violeta Parra, among others. “But I also feel that some of these songs aren’t just for me, they’re for any woman or girl who feels the way that I do.”

As for the vibrant, life-affirming quality at the core of Turning Pages, Acuña chalks it up to both life experiences and an organic, unforced approach.

“I really wanted to expand myself and do some exploring and experimenting,” she added. “I’m really celebrating 25 years in this country and I hope I never lose that desire to find new possibilities.”

While COVID-19 has turned everyone’s life upside down for the past year, Acuña is nonetheless grateful for her own safety and good health. She even sees the pandemic as an opportunity for a second chance for us careless, undisciplined humans to make things right.

“Music is my life and COVID took everything away from me as a performer—and all those who support what I do, like the techs, camera crew, publicists, etc.—I mean, we were 100 percent cancelled,” said Acuña. “That said, I’m lucky to be safe and healthy, although I have been social distancing, wearing a mask, and not travelling, which does matter.”

For Acuña, who is backed by guitarist Juancho Herrera, keyboardist Pablo Vergara, bassist Carlos Henderson and drummer Rodrigo Recabarren, what matters most is how we get back up, and what we’ve learned from, this terrible pandemic.

“I really am hopeful that there will be more empathy, understanding, and being present in the moment,” she offered. “We’ve been a society of sleepwalkers, where professions and economics are more important than taking care of ourselves and our planet. That surely must change. Mother Earth has shown us that life on this planet can be really good without us . . . . so, maybe that’s a warning we all should heed.”

*Claudia Acuña and her band perform this Saturday as part of the International Women’s Day Concert Series. Wind from the South, noon, $15-$20; The Art of Bolero, 5 p.m. $15-$20. Bundles may also be available. Go to www.thefreight.org, or www.claudiaacunamusic.com, for more information.