Biography
Born in Embudo, New Mexico, to an Argentine father and an American mother, Raul Midón first played drums as a youngster before taking up guitar and absorbing flamenco, jazz, and classical techniques on the instrument. During the nineties he studied at the University of Miami, quickly becoming a sought-after background vocalist on Latin-pop sessions; even at that stage his gifts as a singer and guitarist attracted notice. Although he was immersed in that commercial world, his personal songwriting drew from sources as varied as Hermeto Pascoal, Bill Withers, and Joni Mitchell.
As a solo artist he debuted on RCA with Gracias a la Vida in 1999, then moved to New York to concentrate on his own path. After issuing the independent album Blind to Reality in 2001, producer-composer Arif Mardin—making his first signing in a fifty-year career—brought him to the EMI-distributed Manhattan imprint. The resulting 2005 release State of Mind, which reached the Billboard 200 and included contributions from Stevie Wonder and Jason Mraz, was followed in 2007 by World Within a World. A subsequent association with Decca yielded the 2010 album Synthesis, produced by Larry Klein and spotlighting a version of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” That same year Midón appeared on three tracks—“State of Mind,” the Brazilian medley “O Mio Babbino Caro/Mas Que Nada,” and “Amazing Grace”—of Marcus Miller’s A Night in Monte Carlo with the L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo; those performances helped the record enter the Top 10 on the Contemporary Jazz Charts.
Earlier, while still establishing himself, Midón had sung with DJ-producer Little Louie Vega’s Elements of Life Orchestra and served as a backing vocalist for Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, and Julio Iglesias. His smooth, silky tenor and emotionally charged phrasing reflect the influence of Bill Withers, Michael Franks, Donny Hathaway, and D’Angelo. Blind since birth, he has built a catalog across several labels while maintaining an active touring schedule; his impassioned acoustic work, spanning pop, jazz, soul, urban, cumbia, and flamenco, has drawn audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific.
The 2016 album Bad Ass and Blind reached number five on the Jazz Albums chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Two years later If You Really Want, recorded with the Metropole Orkest under Vince Mendoza, secured a second consecutive nomination in the Best Vocal Jazz Album category despite modest U.S. chart placement. In 2019 Midón received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami and delivered a widely praised NPR Tiny Desk Concert. After further tours of the United States and Europe he returned to the studio, releasing Mirror on Mack Avenue in March 2020. Stepping outside a strictly jazz framework, he recruited Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel for the Latin-inflected “I Love the Afternoon,” co-wrote the jazz-folk piece “Deep Dry Ocean” with Gerald Clayton, blended funk, hip-hop, and flamenco on “You’re the One,” and featured vibraphonist Joe Locke on the lilting “A Certain Cafe.” The title track carried a sultry, Santana-tinged Latin-rock atmosphere, while spoken-word selections appeared for the first time in “If I Could See” and “A Day Without War.” The album earned a Libera Award nomination for Best Jazz Album.
In 2021 Midón was named Disability Rights Ambassador of the Year and guested on Alex Cuba’s Grammy-winning album Mendo. The all-instrumental Eclectic Adventurist, issued independently in 2022, showcased duets with guitarists Mike Stern, Lionel Loueke, and Stephane Wrembel among others. That year he also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vince Mendoza as part of the PBS series Next at the Kennedy Center. His thirteenth studio album, Lost & Found, arrived in 2024; supported by percussionist Andres Forero, bassist Richard Hammond, and keyboardist Federico Pena, the collection fuses smooth folk, alt-pop, and jazz and features the single “Keep On Keeping On,” theme song for Jennifer Hudson’s daytime talk show.
As a solo artist he debuted on RCA with Gracias a la Vida in 1999, then moved to New York to concentrate on his own path. After issuing the independent album Blind to Reality in 2001, producer-composer Arif Mardin—making his first signing in a fifty-year career—brought him to the EMI-distributed Manhattan imprint. The resulting 2005 release State of Mind, which reached the Billboard 200 and included contributions from Stevie Wonder and Jason Mraz, was followed in 2007 by World Within a World. A subsequent association with Decca yielded the 2010 album Synthesis, produced by Larry Klein and spotlighting a version of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” That same year Midón appeared on three tracks—“State of Mind,” the Brazilian medley “O Mio Babbino Caro/Mas Que Nada,” and “Amazing Grace”—of Marcus Miller’s A Night in Monte Carlo with the L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo; those performances helped the record enter the Top 10 on the Contemporary Jazz Charts.
Earlier, while still establishing himself, Midón had sung with DJ-producer Little Louie Vega’s Elements of Life Orchestra and served as a backing vocalist for Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, and Julio Iglesias. His smooth, silky tenor and emotionally charged phrasing reflect the influence of Bill Withers, Michael Franks, Donny Hathaway, and D’Angelo. Blind since birth, he has built a catalog across several labels while maintaining an active touring schedule; his impassioned acoustic work, spanning pop, jazz, soul, urban, cumbia, and flamenco, has drawn audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific.
The 2016 album Bad Ass and Blind reached number five on the Jazz Albums chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Two years later If You Really Want, recorded with the Metropole Orkest under Vince Mendoza, secured a second consecutive nomination in the Best Vocal Jazz Album category despite modest U.S. chart placement. In 2019 Midón received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami and delivered a widely praised NPR Tiny Desk Concert. After further tours of the United States and Europe he returned to the studio, releasing Mirror on Mack Avenue in March 2020. Stepping outside a strictly jazz framework, he recruited Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel for the Latin-inflected “I Love the Afternoon,” co-wrote the jazz-folk piece “Deep Dry Ocean” with Gerald Clayton, blended funk, hip-hop, and flamenco on “You’re the One,” and featured vibraphonist Joe Locke on the lilting “A Certain Cafe.” The title track carried a sultry, Santana-tinged Latin-rock atmosphere, while spoken-word selections appeared for the first time in “If I Could See” and “A Day Without War.” The album earned a Libera Award nomination for Best Jazz Album.
In 2021 Midón was named Disability Rights Ambassador of the Year and guested on Alex Cuba’s Grammy-winning album Mendo. The all-instrumental Eclectic Adventurist, issued independently in 2022, showcased duets with guitarists Mike Stern, Lionel Loueke, and Stephane Wrembel among others. That year he also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vince Mendoza as part of the PBS series Next at the Kennedy Center. His thirteenth studio album, Lost & Found, arrived in 2024; supported by percussionist Andres Forero, bassist Richard Hammond, and keyboardist Federico Pena, the collection fuses smooth folk, alt-pop, and jazz and features the single “Keep On Keeping On,” theme song for Jennifer Hudson’s daytime talk show.
Albums
Singles
