Magos Herrera is a Mexican jazz singer, songwriter, producer, and educator. She sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and has collaborated with Javier Limón, saxophonistTim Ries, Aaron Goldberg, Pedro Aznar, Ed Simon Trio, John Patitucci, Luis Perdomo, Adam Rogers, Tim Hagans, Alex Kautz, composerPaola Prestini, former Kronos Quartet cellist Jeff Zeigler, and many others. Herrera was nominated in 2006 and 2009 for Lunas del Auditorio Awards, presented by Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional for the best live performances, for Best Jazz Concert of the Year. Her 2009 album Distancia was nominated for a Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy Award. Herrera was given the Berklee Latin Masters Award in 2015. In 2011 she was selected along with Michelle Obama as one of the most important women of the year by Siempre Mujer magazine. Herrera is a United Nation's spokesperson for UN Women UNITE, a program promoting the elimination of violence against women, and the UN's "He For She" campaigns to promote gender equality. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Brazilian jazz drummer Alexandre Kautz.
Early life
Born in Mexico City in the 1970s, Herrera graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles in 1992. She later studied with Russian opera teacher Konstantin Jadan, then moved to Boston to continue instruction in contemporary improvisation.
Music career
While in Mexico City, Magos released five albums: Orquídeas Susurrantes, País Maravilla, Todo Puede Inspirar, and Soliluna, the latter recorded with Mexican singer Iraida Noriega. She was also part of the compilation album series Mexican Divas. In 2008, Herrera moved to New York. She performed locally including at the New York Winter Jazz Festival. Since then, she recorded and participated in multiple projects including the album Stones World: The Rolling Stones Project II for saxophonist Tim Ries, for contemporary composer Paola Prestini for VIA project, among others. She collaborated with former Kronos Quartet cellist Jeff Zeigler in Lens Vivant, created and directed by Mexican visual artist Erika Harrsch, and later again with Harrsch, in the multimedia project, Dream Act. Herrera released her album Distancia in 2009. It was co-produced by Tim Ries, featuring pianist Aaron Goldberg and guitarist Lionel Loueke, the album quickly charted #1 in the iTunes jazz category. In 2011, Mexico Azul was released,co-produced by Ries and recorded with John Patitucci, Luis Perdomo, Adam Rogers, Tim Hagans, Rogerio Boccato, and Alex Kautz. The album is a tribute to Mexican composers from the Golden Era of the 1930s and 1940s. A year later, her compilation album, Lo Mejor de Magos Herrera was released. Later, in the summer of 2013, Magos recorded Dawn, with multiple Grammy winner, producer, and guitarist from Spain, Javier Limón. Magos and Limón decided to record a second album and DVD for UN Women, and included on the project Fito Páez, Eugenia León, Grégoire Maret, Chabuco, and others, in support of the United Nations "He for She" campaign, which promoted gender equality. Herrera is a UN Women spokesperson. Herrera recorded a tribute to Mexican poet Octavio Paz, by composer Felipe Perez Santiago, and she was invited as a guest artist in "La guitarra vuela", a documentary honoring the flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. Along with other performers from the New York artist community, and under the artistic direction of Paola Prestini, Herrera is a curator for the National Sawdust, one of Brooklyn's performance venues. As a performer, Herrera has appeared around the world at venues such as New York's Lincoln Center and UN Headquarters, Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, Chicago's Millennium Park, SFJazz in San Francisco, Teatro de la Ciudad de México, Sala Galileo Galilei in Madrid, New York Winter Jazz Festival and Paris' Duc des Lombards. In addition, she has participated in Montreal's International Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Barcelona's International Jazz Festival, and more in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, England, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Teaching career
Herrera has also been an instructor since 2000, has been a guest professor for master classes and clinics at Berklee College in Boston, Central College in Pella, Iowa, Miami Dade College, Kula Lumpur Music Academy, Escuela Superior de Música in Mexico City, and held academic residencies in Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Tamil Nadu, India, and the Langnau Jazz Camp in Switzerland in 2016.
Nominations and grants
In 2015, Herrera was given the Berklee Latin Masters 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.
In 2009, she was nominated for the International Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album with Distancia.
In 2006 and 2009, was nominated for Best Jazz Performance by Lunas del Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.
In 2011, was selected, along with Michelle Obama as one of the most important women of the year by Siempre Mujer magazine.
TV & radio shows
Herrera produced and hosted two musical television programs for Mexico’s arts and culture television channel, Canal 22, called "Acústico y Jazz Desde El Bajo Centro," with guests Ute Lemper, Jerry González, Diego el Cigala, among others. When not touring, Herrera produces and hosts a weekly radio program from New York, entitled "La Vuelta a La Manzana" for Mexico’s Public Radio,, Horizonte Jazz 107.9 FM. Appearing on her show have been Miguel Zenon, Antonio Sánchez, and Peter Eldridge, and others.
Theater
In 2005, Herrera was cast to be part of "Modelo para armar", a play by Pablo Mandoki that was performed at Mexico City’s UNAM University Theater, Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón.
