Focusing The Spotlight: A Little Bit More About Anna Estrada

Our current spotlight artist, Anna Estrada, brings a wealth of experience and smart musicality into the mix on her debut release, Soñando Vuelos. Her vocal technique and overall musicality resonate with a sense of training and taste. Her ability to move fluidly between Brazilian, Cuban, and Peruvian styles reflects a connection to many musicians and traditions, built through years of study. She surrounds herself with all the right people – from classy arrangements by trombonist Wayne Wallace to top-notch performances by musicians such as bassist David Belove, drummer Paul Van Wageningen, and pianists Murray Low and Frank Martin, Estrada has integrated the right elements into her project. There’s a lot to respect in Estrada’s musical statement, and the solid background that she built on her journey towards her current project.

Estrada’s path should serve as an inspiration to all of us, moving through both the professional and creative world with grace and style. Estrada spent years in college training for a career in the medical field. In 1986, she began work in medicine, which she continues today. At the same time, she maintained an interest in theater. As he medical career thrived, Estrada established herself as an actress, working in live shows, film, and on television. Her dual professional life kept her busy, but she still had aspirations to dive into music. She began to study voice and flute on top of her other commitments, investigating a variety of musical approaches. In January of 2008, she started Feral Flight Productions, with the intention of promoting her artistic projects. Estrada’s road towards her career as a Latin Jazz musician has been an interesting one, which gives her more to draw upon as an artist.

There are plenty of places to find more information about Estrada and her musical projects. There’s info, pictures, music, and more on Estrada’s Website. You can stream full tracks from Soñando Vuelos and connect with Estrada on her MySpace Page. Make a professional connection with Estrada through her LinkedIn Profile. Become friends and write on Estrada’s wall at her Facebook Profile. There’s several ways to dig deeper into Estrada’s music, so get out there and check it out!

The information below comes from Estrada’s bio – take a minute to read up on her and then head over to the LJC review to hear about her album. Enjoy!

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A well known performer in the Bay Area theater community, Anna’s theatre resume included work at the Magic Theater, Theater in the Square, Brava, a plethora of industrial films, as well as two appearances on “America’s Most Wanted’.

In 2002 she followed an impulse and began to pursue her lifelong dream to sing. She hasn’t looked back since.

In addition to her lyrical two and a half octave range, Anna’s voice is imbued with the passion she brings to the diverse material she performs.

In her brief time in the Bay Area music scene, she has performed at several venues, including Cliff House, Cigar Bar & Grill, Octavia Lounge, Anna’s Jazz Island, Shanghai 1930, Downtown Restaurant, Straits, and both the Sausalito & Downtown San Francisco locations of the Caffe Trieste, as well as participating in Santana Row’s Summer World Music Series.

Her music is an ecclectic mix of Brasilian, Latin, and Jazz standards all done with a Latin groove … the more familiar bossanova, samba, cha cha, and mambo rhythms…. or the more unusual… such as the lando from Peru or Xoxe from Brasil. Her repertoire stretches from Latin America to the American Songbook.

She’s been a student of Madeline Eastman’s Voice Shop, has worked with Claudia Villela and David Stroud, and is currently studying voice with Raz Kennedy and flute with Charley McCarthy.

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Spotlight: Into The World – A Musical Offering, Andrea Brachfeld
Spotlight: Latin Journey, Kraft/Landry/Messina
Spotlight: Drummers Speak, Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel
Spotlight: Bienvenida, Venissa Santi