Claudia Acuña

Though she always wanted to be a singer, Chilean jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña didn't discover jazz music until she was 15. The Santiago native grew up singing traditional folk songs and pop hits, but when the city's jazz fans heard her perform, they told her she had a natural gift for the style. Acuña frequented Santiago's major jazz club, sitting in on sets with local musicians and meeting luminaries like Wynton Marsalis, Michel Petrucciani, and Danilo Perez. In 1995, Acuña moved to New York, making a name for herself in the jazz community with regular dates at Smalls, Sweet Basil, the Zinc Bar and Metronome. Through this consistent gigging she met bassist Avishai Cohen, with whom she collaborated on a demo tape that earned Acuña a contract with Verve Records. Cohen also worked with her on her 2000 debut album The Wind from the South.