The winner of the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition (2022), 23-year-old singer Lucía releases her debut album on La Reserve Records on Friday, May 16, 2025 (PRE-SAVE ALBUM). Produced by Matt Pierson (Samara Joy, Brad Mehldau, Milton Nascimento), Lucía spotlights an exquisite versatility and superb technique as she covers American jazz classics and selections from the Latin American songbook. Lucía's singular voice embodies the warmth reminiscent of jazz's great early-20th century female vocalists, though it's solely unique with her nods to her home of Veracruz, Mexico throughout Lucía.
Lucía is the first Mexican artist to enter the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, and it was her rendition of "What a Difference a Day Makes" that won over the judges and bestowed on her one of the most distinguished awards for voice. Popularized by Dinah Washington, the initial incarnation of "What a Difference a Day Makes" was a bolero written in Spanish by María Grever. On Lucía, she delicately sings it first as a jazz ballad in English, then levitates to a fiery reworking of the song ("Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado") in Spanish with her all-star band.
For the studio sessions, Pierson enlisted a cadre of jazz virtuosos: Venezuelan pianist Edward Simon, American double-bassist Larry Grenadier, Mexican drummer Antonio Sánchez, Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sánchez, Colombian guitarist Juancho Herrera, and Costa Rican percussionist Felipe Fournier. Lucía portrays the depth of her musical sensibility with Lucía's velvety reading of McCoy Tyner and Sammy Cahn's "You Taught My Heart To Sing" and an achingly vulnerable cover of Olivia Rodrigo's "Lacy" to a mournful "Alfonsina y el Mar" and a version of "Veracruz" that brims with Lucía's Mexican pride.
Her innate talent was nurtured from a very young age when she began performing at age two, together with her parents Laura Rebolloso and Ramón Gutiérrez and their acclaimed Son de Madera, a son jarocho ensemble. She grew up surrounded by fandangos and the son jarocho community, and is also the niece of Quetzal Flores, founder of the Los Angeles-based Chicano rock band Quetzal. Most importantly, Lucía's parents played many records at home -- from the salsa nuggets of El Gran Combo to the Latin folk of Mercedes Sosa and the healing Soul sides of Aretha Franklin.
After getting a degree in Jazz Studies from the university of Veracruz, Lucía contributed vocals to Mexican singer/songwriter Natalia Lafourcade's De Todas Las Flores -- one of the key Latin albums of the 21st century. She also performed with Lafourcade at Carnegie Hall (as well as being a backup singer on tour for two years), an experience that had a massive effect on her carving out her own path.
On recording her debut album, Lucía recalls, "there was a moment in the studio when we were recording 'Veracruz' and I just started to cry. It was that line about Veracruz shimmering in my soul, and the need to return to its distant beaches. I had sung that beautiful Agustín Lara song in choir during elementary school, and suddenly here I was, making a record with Antonio Sánchez and Larry Grenadier standing next to me. Matt asked me if I was OK, and I explained that I was crying out of sheer happiness."
With the release of her debut album coming up in May 2025, Lucía will tour across Europe and the Americas showcasing her idiosyncratic approach to her songbook to the world. The combination of traditional American jazz with the radiance of Latin folk remains at the core of her identity -- both as a person, and a vocalist.
"I love jazz standards so much, but there is also another side of me that resonates deeply whenever I go to a fandango party or a son jarocho concert. I wouldn't be true to myself if I just did an album of songs in English. On my debut album, I managed to fuse that sound with my own roots in a very organic way. Fortunately, Matt connected with my vision immediately."
Lucía's future is certainly bright with her sparkling onstage presence and a debut album that represents the global evolution of jazz, where cultures from all over the world can dance together in harmony.
Lucía
Track List:
1. What A Difference A Day Makes (Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado)
2. Silencio
3. You Taught My Heart To Sing
4. Lacy
5. You Must Believe In Spring
6. Exactly Like You
7. La Llorona
8. Mi Niña Lola
9. Speak Low
10. Blame It On My Youth
11. Veracruz
12. Alfonsina Y El Mar
