Carmen Lundy

We wrap up the 19^th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival with award-winning and two-time Grammy-nominated singer, composer, film producer and visual artist Carmen Lundy, an artist that is highly regarded for her innovative musicianship, showmanship and songwriting. She has penned more than two hundred compositions to date, and, after five decades as a recording artist, carries an artistic weight that has resulted in sold-out shows across North America, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  Lundy has performed at festivals and concert halls around the world, captivating audiences with her virtuosity, raw heartfelt emotion, and playfulness. She began her career in Miami where she performed with Bruce Hornsby and Jaco Pastorius, later moving to New York where she performed and recorded with Ray Barretto, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen, and many others. Most recently, she performed at the Central Avenue Jazz Festival, Detroit and DC Jazz Festivals, London Jazz Festival, and others. Lundy has received praise from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and numerous other foreign and domestic publications and as a composer and her music has been recorded by Kenny Barron, Ernie Watts and Straight Ahead with Regina Carter, among others.  Her latest (16^th) album, Fade to Black, was nominated for a Grammy and features 11 songs, written and arranged by Lundy. Conceived during the pandemic, the songs reflect this time of loss, sorrow, healing, and hope for a brighter, more inclusive future for us all. The New York Times wrote, Lundy is “a talented multi-instrumentalist, restlessly inventive composer and husky-voiced singer ready to pick up the mantle from the likes of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan.” She will be accompanied by Julius Rodrigues, piano, Ben Williams, bass; Andrew Renfroe, guitar; and Terreon Gulley, drums.