Magos Herrera

...”Herrera is without a doubt the best jazz singer out of Mexico, and with México Azul she is establishing herself among the best singers in jazz". Jazztimes / Wilbert Sotre, 2011…

”Herrera is stretching the very notion of jazz singing, pushing past the diva pleasantries into a sound that's bold, thrilling and effortlessly global”. NPR Radio / Tom Moon, 2009…

“Herrera creates a thoroughly modern expression of jazz performance and Latin culture on Distancia, easily holding the weight of an intelligent and complex sound with her prodigious musicianship.” The Latin Jazz Corner / Chip Boaz, 209...

”Magos Herrera can sing the alphabet – in Spanish, Portuguese, and English – and it would sound like a Grammy-award-winning masterpiece of epic proportions". Jazz Music Examiner / Carol Banks Weber, 2011

Born in Mexico City and currently based in New York City, Magos Herrera, a dazzling accomplished singer songwriter, is considered one of the most beautiful voices and most active vocalists in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. She is known for her beguiling rhythmic scatting and deep captivating singing.

Career start
Magos’ career starts in 1992 when she graduates from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. Herrera stays firmly rooted in tradition of different Latin American and Iberic backgrounds. She blends them with the refinement and sophistication of jazz, interpreted through her unique artistic vision. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, her repertoire is filled with the yearning romance, intimacy and enchantment.

While living in Mexico City, Herrera releases five albums including Orquideas Susurrantes (2000), Pais Maravilla (2002) and Soliluna (2006), the latter which she records with Mexican singer Iraida Noriega. Magos gets nominated twice for  Lunas del Auditorio Nacional  (2006-2009) in the category Best Jazz Concert Of The Year among the likes of jazz greats Bobby McFerrin and Bill Frisell. 

Move to New York
In 2008 Herrera moves to New York, to develop her artistic ambitions. She promptly becomes part of the local scene after performing a highly successful concert at the New York Winter Jazz Festival. Since then, Magos has recorded and perform as part of innumerable projects including  the  album Stones World: The Rolling Stones Project II (2008) for saxophonist Tim Ries, The Music of Chick Corea with pianist Elio Villafranca and with contemporary composer Paola Prestini for VIA project, among others.

In 2009 Magos releases the album Distancia to high critical acclaim. Co-produced by Tim Ries featuring pianist Aaron Goldberg and guitarist Lionel Loueke, it becomes #1 in the iTunes  jazz category and earns her a Grammy short-list nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In 2011 México Azul sees the light of day, again co-produced by Ries and recorded with New York hot shots John Patitucci, Luis Perdomo and Alex Kautz. The album pays tribute to Mexican composers from the golden era in the 30’s and 40’s. It wins rave reviews. In 2012 the excellent compilation Lo Mejor de Magos Herrera is released.
In the summer of 2013 Magos records with multple Grammy winner, producer and guitarist Javier Limón on the album Dawn released in 2014 by Sony’s OKeh Records label. From this celebrated collaboration, Magos and Limón decided to join forces to record a second album with Sony Music to inviting international top artists like Fito Páez, Eugenia León, Grégoire Maret, Chabuco, to mention a few, to support The “He for She” UN campaign, a solidarity movement for gender . This album will be release in fall 2015. Currently Magos, along with Phillip Glass and other group of diverse top New York artists is a curartor of “National Sawdust” a cultural venue that will open it’s doors in New York in fall 2015.

International touring
Magos constantly tours around the world. Has performed at The Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Barcelona Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, Millenium Park in Chicago, SFJazz in San Francisco, Teatro de la Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Sala Galileo Galilei in Madrid, Duc des Lombards in Paris, among more than 600 venues around USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, The Netherlands, India, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Hosting TV and radio
In New York Magos hosts her own radio show La Vuelta a La Manzana for Mexican public radio IMER Horizonte 107.9FM in which she shares her joy for music and talks with the best artists from today’s jazz scene. In México Herrera produced and hosted two TV shows for several seasons, promoting music for Mexico’s TV channel 22.

Musical ambassador
US latin magazine Siempre Mujer featured Herrera along side Michelle Obama as one of the top 10 women in 2011 for her outstanding work as a musical ambassador for Mexican contemporary music. She was a recipient of the Mexico National Grant Program for Performing Artist 2010-2013 given by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) representant mexican jazz abroad, and is a UN campaign a spokesperson  for the UNITE  campaign to stop violence against women. In 2013 Magos is honored by Canal 22 to be part of the series Mexicanos Exitosos and in 2015 she received Berklee's Master of Latin Music Award in recognition of her contribution to the development and exposure of Latin American and her original music in a contemporary context around the world.