(Vocal Jazz, Nouveau Flamenco, World Fusion) Magos & Limón (Magos Herrera & Javier Limon) - Dawn - 2014, MP3, 320 kbps

Magos Herrera
Voice
“Magos Herrera is the Cassandra Wilson of Latin America. There are similarities in their warm, sultry tone, their bluesy feeling and strong command of the jazz language. 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.” This is what jazz connaisseur and journalist Wilbert Sostre penned in his review about the album México Azul for the acclaimed music magazine Jazz Times.
Born in Mexico City and currently based in New York City, Magos Herrera 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. Besides Herrera is a dazzling accomplished singer songwriter who is immensly popular throughout Mexico and Latin America.
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. Magos records with saxophonist Tim Ries for his album Stones World: The Rolling Stones Project II (2008) and with contemporary composer Paola Prestini.
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 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 Limon on the album Dawn due for release in the first half of 2014 by Sony’s OKeh Records label.
The succes of Distancia and México Azul got Magos booked at important jazz festivals and venues around the world including The United States, China, Canada, México, Puerto Rico, Spain, The Netherlands, India, Malaysia and Singapore. In May 2013 she also performs with pianist Elio Villafranca at the Chick Corea Festival held in Lincoln Center, New York.
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. It featured artists like Jerry Gonzalez, Diego el Cigala and Francisco Cespedes.
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. Currently Magos is a recipient of the Mexico National Grant Program for Performing Artist 2010-2013 given by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA). She also supports as a spokesperson for the UN campaign UNITE to stop violence against women. In 2013 Magos is honored by Canal 22 to be part of the series Succesful Mexicans with the beautiful profile show Mexicanos Exitosos.
Javier Limón
Flamenco Guitar
Javier Limón, (Madrid, 1973). Composer, producer, and guitar player.
Specializing in flamenco, jazz, Latin jazz, and world music, Javier started out studying classical piano and oboe at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. Afterwards, he complemented his musical training by studying his Andalusian and flamenco roots, which situated him as an international reference for world music, both as a composer and as a producer.
Javier Limon’s principal’s characteristics are his versatility (composer, guitar player, producer, professor, film scorer, TV host, etc.) and the variety of countries and styles in which he has comprehensively worked in (flamenco, jazz, Greece, Portugal, India, Turkey, Israel, The Netherlands, and almost all the Latin American countries).
He has produced and composed music in more than 100 albums for artists such as Paco de Lucía, Wynton Marsallis, Joe Lovano, Joan Manuel Serrat, Joaquín Sabina, Caetano Veloso, Juan Luis Guerra, Tom Harrel, Alejandro Sanz, Alicia Keys, Enrique and Estrella Morente, José Mercé, Bebo Valdés, Buika, Ana Belén, Andrés Calamaro, Jerry González, Diego El Cigala, Mariza, Elephteria Arvanitakis, Anoushka Shankar, and Luz Casal.
This ample discography has been edited by multinational record labels, independent record labels, and by his own label, “Casa Limón,” where Javier develops special vanguard projects with an irrefutable seal of quality.
As a soloist, Javier has composed and recorded four albums where all of his influences are reflected: LIMON, SON DE LIMON, MUJERES DE AGUA, and PROMESAS DE TIERRA, all featuring some of the top artists worldwide.
Javier Limón has participated in the most important jazz festivals around the world, such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Barcelona Jazz Festival, Madrid Jazz Festival, Valencia Eclectic Festival, Vitoria Jazz Festival, Midem Festival at Cannes, and the Istanbul Jazz Festival.
Javier’s work includes the composition of soundtracks for films such as “Bienvenido a Casa” by David Trueba with Pilar Lopez de Ayala and Alejo Sauras, “La Crisis Carnivora” by Pedro Rivero with Enrique San Francisco and Jose Coronado, “Bajo Las estrellas” by Felix Biscarret with Alberto San Juan and Emma Suarez, “Ese Beso” by Kamala Lopez with Lia Chapman, “Solo Quiero Caminar” by Agustin Diaz Yanes with Diego Luna, Elena Anaya, Ariadna Gil, and Victoria Abril, “Manolete” by Meno Meyjes with Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody, and “La Piel que Habito” by Pedro Almodovar with Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya.
Javier is also an active educator, and has been teaching production, flamenco composition, and songwriting at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is also the director of the Mediterranean Music Institute and the Berklee Latino program, which promotes the teaching of Latin music.
Additionally, Javier has developed a career as communicator and host for music-related TV shows. For the show ENTRE2AGUA, Javier travelled the world interviewing the masters of different musical styles, such as Chick Corea, Juanjo Dominguez, DJ Avan, Avishai Cohen, and Jose Antonio Abreu. In UN LUGAR LLAMADO MUNDO, directed for TV by David Trueba for CANAL PLUS and in radio format by EUROPA FM, Javier shows his modern style, interviewing current rising artists such as Vampire Weekend, John Grant, The Stripes, and Editors, allowing them to share the stage and play together. Furthermore, Javier collaborates with popular figures in the Spanish media such as Julia Otero and Toni Garrido, and writes a blog in the culture section of EL PAIS newspaper.
Javier Limon’s trajectory as a producer includes 8 Grammy Awards for works such as Cositas Buenas (Paco de Lucia), El Corazon de Mi Gente (Pepe de Lucia), Lagrimas Negras (Bebo Valdes and Diego El Cigala), Bebo (Bebo Valdes), Juntos Para Siempre (Bebo and Chucho Valdes), El Ultimo Trago (Buika), among others, as well as for Producer of the Year in 2004. In addition to those, he has been awarded the Premios de la Musica for Lagrimas Negras, Cositas Buenas, and Mi Niña Lola (Buika), among others.
Javier’s discography contains more than 80 works that include artists such as: Remedios Amaya, Montse Cortés, Pepe de Lucía, Jerry González, Niño Josele, Diego El Cigala, El Potito, Bebo Valdés, Paco de Lucía, Enrique Morente, David Broza, Andrés Calamaro, Luz Casal, La Tana, Victoria Abril, La Negra, Buika, José Luis Perales, Ana Belén, Lolita, Antonio Serrano, Sole Jiménez, Mariza, Los Guapos, Ainhoa Arteta, Hip Hop Roots, Chucho Valdés, Elisabeth Ayoub, Eleftheria, Yasmin Levy, Ondina Maldonado, Antonio Orozco, Estopa, La Shica, Ivan Melón Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Sandra Carrasco, Anoushka Shankar, Serrat y Sabina, José Mercé, Ariadna Castellanos and Magos Herrera.
http://magoslimon.com/

It’s seven p.m., in an indistinguishable neighborhood bar in New York City. There’s a man sitting alone with a cup of coffee, his guitar leaning against the wall. A tall, thin, young woman with a slow, elegant gait walks through the door. Without saying a word she approaches him, and sits down next to him.
This could be the opening scene of a novel or a French thriller from the 50s, but in reality, it is the start of an extraordinary musical adventure – a first encounter between two musicians destined to fall in love.
Magos Herrera, renown Mexican-born jazz singer and resident of New York City, has worked with the best jazz musicians from around the world for many years, combining her Latin roots with the sound of contemporary American jazz, thus, positioning herself among a musical elite.
The man sitting in the bar, Javier Limón, is a laureate composer, guitarist and internationally recognized producer, known for his collaboration with Paco de Lucia, Bebo and Chucho Valdes, Buika, Avishai Cohen and Wynton Marsalis, among others. He has become an indispensable reference in the genre of Flamenco and future international music.
DAWN represents an encounter between the profound, sophisticated voice of Magos Herrera and the intricate Flamenco guitar of Javier Limón, the convergence of vanguard jazz and minimalist Flamenco, a summit of sound for the 21st century.
It is an intimate trek through a repertoire of select American and Latin jazz masterpieces including songs such as Afroblue, Skylark and Blue in Green by Miles Davis and O que tinha de ser (What Has to Be) by Antonio Carlos Jobim, among others, while flirting with some new and surprisingly original compositions by the duo.
Be it in English, Spanish or Portuguese, the self-control of Magos’ interpretation and the power of her words and voice combined with Limón’s refined simplicity and harmony, in addition to the careful rendering of this project make DAWN a cutting-edge, revolutionary approach to Flamenco-jazz.
A blanket of silence in the air, fragile words, glances and emotions which mark the momentum of the recording production coupled with a live performance experience give pause to time affording a trek through an eternal DAWN.
http://www.okeh-records.com/2014/03/17/dawn-the-simple-sophistication-of-emotion/

Magos Herrera – Voice
Javier Limón – Flamenco Guitar