Luciana Souza
vocals
Grammy-winner Luciana Souza is one of jazz’s leading singers and interpreters. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Souza’s work transcends traditional boundaries around musical styles. She has performed and recorded with Herbie Hancock, Guillermo Klein, Bobby McFerrin, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Maria Schneider, Paul Simon, James Taylor, and many others. She has been a prominent soloist in important new works by composers Derek Bermel, Osvaldo Golijov, Rachel Grimes, Angelica Negron, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Patrick Zimmerli, performing with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and A Far Cry. Souza has twice been named “Female Jazz Singer of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association (2005, 2013).
Souza has been releasing celebrated recordings since 2002 including her six Grammy-nominated records: Brazilian Duos, North and South, Duos II, Tide, Duos III, and The Book of Chet. Her critically acclaimed ninth recording for the Sunnyside label, The Book of Longing, presents her settings of poems by Leonard Cohen, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Christina Rossetti. She began her recording career at age three with a radio commercial.
Souza spent four years on the faculty at Berklee College of Music, where she received a bachelor's degree in jazz composition. She earned a master’s degree in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music and taught for four years at the Manhattan School of Music.