Lighthouse Works Presents: Magos Herrera, Arrangements from Aire

Born in Mexico City and currently based out of New York City, Magos Herrera is a dazzling jazz singer-songwriter, producer, and educator declared "One of the greatest contemporary interpreters of song” by The Latin Jazz Network. With a sultry voice and an unparalleled presence in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene, she is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her singular bold style, which embraces elements of contemporary jazz with Ibero-American melodies and rhythms in a style that elegantly blends and surpasses language boundaries.

“She gets way under the skin of the song, recalling great communicators like Edith Piaf or Billie Holiday” is how NPR describes Herrera’s talents; who has recorded 9 albums, including joint collaborations with producer Javier Limón in addition to having participated as a guest artist of several recordings and albums. An accomplished artist, Magos has performed in leading international cultural venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in NYC, Kennedy Center in DC, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Union Chapel in London, Palau de la Musica in Valencia, and has been part of the line-up of some of the most memorable jazz festivals including Montreux Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival, to mention a few. Included as one of the most creative Mexicans in the world by Forbes Magazine, throughout her career, Magos has garnered important awards and recognitions, including a Grammy short-list nomination in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category for her album Distancia (2009), and received the Berklee College of Music’s Master of Latin Music Award.

In 2018 Magos released her album Dreamers (Sony Music) in collaboration with Brooklyn Rider. ”Dreamers is not only a work of art, setting musicians of the highest order to accomplished music with purpose, but it is a work of love as well,” wrote Sounds and Colors on this highly acclaimed album that rapidly got into the Top lists of The New York Times, Billboard classical, NPR Music, among others and was nominated for the Grammy for Best arrangement with the song “Niña”.

Created and recorded remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and in collaboration with composer Paola Prestini, in December 2020, Herrera released her tenth album, “Con Alma” (National Sawdust Tracks), exploring the question of how we can find communion an in a time of isolation. With more than 30 musicians around the globe, including Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Jeff Zeigler, Kinan Azmeh, Romero Lubambo, Gonzalo Grau, Vinicius Gomes, Diego Schissi, Ensemble Sjaella, Constelation Choir and The Young People’s Chorus of New York City this artifact of our time was presented as a virtual digital experience on Dec 2020.

She is a spokesperson for UN Women for UNITE to End Violence Against Women campaign, and He For She, as a promoter of gender equality, is a 2020 recipient of the Chamber Music Americas New Jazz Works Award, 2021 South Arts Jazz Roads Creative Residencies and Cafe Royal Foundation grants recipient, and currently, she serves as a Cultural Diplomatic Advisor for the Mexican Government and is part of New York Mannes Conservatory faculty.