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Alt.Latino: Portraits of Jazz and Identity in Latin America
NPR Music
Ever since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I’ve been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their way to jazz. Lately there seems to be a strong showing of contemporary musicians from various Latin American countries who not only play jazz but also mix certain Latin American folk traditions into their sound. So, this week I spoke with six of them: vocalist Claudia Acuña from Chile, Argentine vocalists Sofia Rei and Roxana Amed, Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera, guitarist/vocalist Camila Meza and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana. Each has a story about identity, living the jazz dream and how they came to jazz. Hopefully you’ll use this roadmap to start your own journey into jazz, if you haven’t already. - Felix Music heard in this episode: Claudia Acuña - “Prelude To A Kiss” Sofia Rei - “El Gavilán” Gato Barieri - “To Be Continued” Roxana Amed - “Corazón delator” Mangos Herrera - “Luz de Luna” Camila Meza - “Utopia” Melissa Aldana - “A Purpose” See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
View originalEver since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I’ve been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their way to jazz. Lately there seems to be a strong showing of contemporary musicians from various Latin American countries who not only play jazz but also mix certain Latin American folk traditions into their sound. So, this week I spoke with six of them: vocalist Claudia Acuña from Chile, Argentine vocalists Sofia Rei and Roxana Amed, Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera, guitarist/vocalist Camila Meza and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana. Each has a story about identity, living the jazz dream and how they came to jazz. Hopefully you’ll use this roadmap to start your own journey into jazz, if you haven’t already. - Felix Music heard in this episode: Claudia Acuña - “Prelude To A Kiss” Sofia Rei - “El Gavilán” Gato Barieri - “To Be Continued” Roxana Amed - “Corazón delator” Mangos Herrera - “Luz de Luna” Camila Meza - “Utopia” Melissa Aldana - “A Purpose” See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
- Published
- November 5, 2025
- Status
- active
- GUID hash
- 9e9b4766a490a5d775b0ea8e6b47a3dcf32db4b20a2558613ac479ae771554ed
- Archive key
- alt-latino-portraits-of-jazz-and-identity-in-latin-america--entry_85c1d774fc69217bb1f824838445
- Archive id
- entry_85c1d774fc69217bb1f824838445