Claudia Acuña

Though her childhood dream had always centered on becoming a vocalist, the Chilean jazz singer Claudia Acuña remained unaware of jazz itself until age fifteen. Raised in Santiago, she spent her early years performing traditional folk material alongside contemporary pop songs, yet local jazz enthusiasts who caught her sets quickly recognized an innate aptitude for the idiom and urged her to explore it further. She became a regular presence at the city’s principal jazz venue, both listening and participating, frequently joining local players onstage while also crossing paths with visiting figures such as Wynton Marsalis, Michel Petrucciani, and Danilo Perez.

Determined to advance her ambitions, Acuña relocated to New York in 1995. She sustained herself through miscellaneous employment while seizing every opportunity to join jam sessions, often remaining until the early hours before taking the stage. These persistent efforts slowly established her reputation within the jazz scene, leading to steady engagements at Smalls, Sweet Basil, the Zinc Bar, and Metronome. During this period of regular performances she encountered bassist Avishai Cohen, who joined her on a demo recording that secured a deal with Verve Records. Cohen further contributed to her first album, The Wind From the South, issued by the label in spring 2000.