Magela Herrera | Flutist・Vocalist・Composer

Press & Media

Magela Herrera

Flutist・Vocalist・Composer

September, 2019
ARTICLE: Broward Palm Beach New Times
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 ​"Seven Things To Do in South Florida this Weekend" By Dale King
September, 2019
June, 2019
PERFORMANCE: Santa Fe Reporter
June, 2019
May, 2019
PERFORMANCE: Daily Post Los Alamos
"St. John's College Summer Concerts Begin June 12" By Carol A. Clark
Flutist Magela Herrera is a leading light of Havana's jazz and popular music community. With influences that span Europe, West Africa, and her home country of Cuba, Magela has grown her musical skill set to include piano, vocals, and composing/arranging. In 2010, Jazz Corner magazine nominated her improvisation on Mezcla’s CD “I'll See You in Cuba” for best flute solo in Latin jazz.
May, 2019
May, 2019
PERFORMANCE: Daily Post Los Alamos
ARTICLE: Latino Magazine 5/1/2019 SPRING 2019 ISSUE

"Grammy Gold" By Mark Holston

"An example of uncommon talent who to date has only viewed the Grammys from a distance, Cuba-born, Florida-based flautist Magela Herrera proves on her debut album, Explicaciones (Brontosaurus Records), that her time in the Grammy spotlight can’t be too far off. Loaded with classical, pop, jazz and Latin influences, the young instrumentalist and composer will quickly charm even the most jaded listener. Working with an ensemble of Miami-based musicians, the session is a bold blend of rhythmic intensity and concert hall virtuosity. And, she sings, boasting a sexy voice and fluid, emotive style on a touching remake of “Bésame Mucho.” A standout take that displays the ensemble’s many talents is “Danzón Para Papá” – a frisky update on the stately Cuban rhythm. There’s much to relish in what Herrera and her crew deliver on this 8-track set."
May, 2019
March, 2019
INTERVIEW: Downbeat Magazine
MARCH 15, 2019
"Magela Hererra Finds Influence in Nordic Landscape" By Catalina Marla Johnson

Downbeat Magazine describes how Magela's musical tastes were influenced by Norway, and how she has developed her craft over the years.
March, 2019
February, 2019
REVIEW: WRTI
FEBRUARY 4, 2019
"Jazz Album of the Week: Magela Herrera Shines Vocally AND Instrumentally in Debut, Explicaciones" By Matt Silver

There are great instrumentalists who are adequate vocalists and terrific singers who can play a few notes, but it’s rare to find an artist who does both—play and sing—with virtuosity. Cuban-born flutist and vocalist, Magela Herrera, is one of these musical unicorns. In her debut album as a leading lady, Explicaciones, Herrera lets her versatile musicianship do all the necessary explanation.

When you listen to the album, you’ll notice that Herrera’s dual talents do not exist in isolation from each other; they profitably co-exist and inform one another. It’s because she sings so well that she’s able to phrase so nicely and cleanly on flute.

Similarly remarkable is Herrera’s ability to simultaneously blend mastery of traditional Cuban and Latin American forms with a penchant for decidedly contemporary arrangements, characterized in no small part by alternating and complex time signatures. For this, see, most notably, her fresh reconstruction of perhaps the most recorded of the traditional boleros, “Besame Mucho.”

Her treatment of the traditional Cuban danzón in “Danzón Para Papá” is similarly faithful yet innovative, with masterful piano playing by Tal Cohen that conjures the energetic and Latin-infused style of Bobby Enriquez. Herrera signs off with an R&B-infused take on “My One and Only Love,” capturing the inherent plaintive, almost desperate, yearning that you’ll find in the best renditions of the Guy Wood standard. We will miss Ms. Herrera until a next time that seems much too far away.
February, 2019
January, 2019
REVIEW: Latin Jazz Network
JANUARY 31, 2019
"Magela Herrera: Explicaciones" By Raul Da Gama

Raul Da Gama praises Magela's album 'Explicaciones' for it's blend of her unique take on familiar tunes and beautifully written original pieces.
January, 2019
January, 2019
REVIEW: Solar Latin Club
JANUARY 24, 2019

"La vocalista, flautista y compositora cubana Magela Herrera debuta con Explicaciones para el sello Brontosaurus Records. Con un amplio bagaje tanto en el Jazz, como en Latin Jazz y la tradición afro-cubana, la habanera propone un discurso musical de un virtuosismo fascinante. Actualmente radicada en Miami, Magela paso una temporada en Noruega, país donde adquirió un master en el Norwegian Academy Of Music.

Herrera integro el ensamble Mezcla entre el 2004 y el 2011, un octeto liderado por Pablo Menéndez. Con el mismo Menéndez grabo para el sello Zoho el disco I´ll See You In Cuba en el 2010. Ademas de compartir tarima como reconocidos músicos como Chucho Valdés, Roberto Garcia, Ruy Lopez Nussa (Cuba), Barbara Dane (USA), Jan Eggum(Norway), Sverre Indris Joner y su grupo Hovedøen Social Club (Noruega), Alejandro Vargas (Cuba), Sanskriti Shrestha(Nepal). ​ En Explicaciones, disco grabado totalmente en Miami, Magela es secundada por un grupo de músicos de primer nivel asentados en el area de Miami. Aqui presenta 8 números: 5 de su propia autoria y 3 covers (Bésame Mucho, Que Te Pedi y My One And Only Love). En Two Sidewalks se tienden puentes entre dos mundos que impregnaron la música de la flautista: el jazz noruego y el funk de Miami. El numero que le da titulo al album destaca a la propia Magela en la parte vocal. El clásico Besame Mucho de Consuelo Velazquez es re-interpretado con una base de guaguanco y la destacada actuación de Tal Cohen en el piano. En Danzón Para Papa Magela se encarga de un fenomenal solo de flauta."
January, 2019
January, 2019
INTERVIEW: Lemonwire
DECEMBER 28, 2018 "Magela Herrera stuns on debut album 'Explicaciones'" ​By Dodie Miller-Gould "Magela Herrera is a vocalist, composer and flute player. Born in Cuba, Herrera is based in Miami. After years of ensemble playing, Herrera presents a debut album full of fresh and stunning ideas. “Explicaciones” the new album from Herrera, is due for release Jan. 21, 2019. About Magela Herrera ​According to Herrera, music came to her during her earliest days. “My parents exposed me to all kinds of music and my mom told me that as a baby, I would wake up from my naps singing – -which is why they enrolled me in music school.” Herrera has come a long way from her days of singing after nap. The flutist didn’t want to limit herself to Cuban music and went to Norway to study music. There, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Jazz Performance from the Norwegian Academy of Music. This was after she had earned a bachelor’s degree in classical music from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). She also studied classical music in her native Havana previously. Claiming to be too shy to have recorded an album before now, Herrera spent the last two years gigging in Miami’s vibrant jazz, r&b/funk and electronica scenes. Herrera is well-versed in playing flamenco, Latin music, Afro jazz and electronic music. Herrera is joined on the album by some of jazz’s most talented players. Tal Cohen is on piano, Greg Diamond is on guitar, David Chiverton is on drums, and Nestor Del Prado and Dion Keith Kerr play bass." About “Explicaciones” by Magela Herrera The debut album is full of eight expressive tracks. Each has its own identity and flair. Listeners will come to appreciate Herrera’s fluid, ethereal, and melodic flute playing. The rhythms are strong and persistent. “Two Sidewalks” opens the album and it is full of Herrera’s signature style. It opens with a swift rumble of bass. The flute darts in and out with quick notes. The drums clatter effectively. The piano then copies the lines of other instruments. The song gives the impression that small animals are chasing each other. That is the kind of music Herrera makes- – that which moves and inspires movement in others. The end of the song is a wild flurry of sound, until the flute plays its final measures and the album is whisked to another song. “Principios” and the title track, “Explicaciones,” are also standout tracks. On her debut album, Herrera sings and plays. Her version of jazz mixes smooth sounds with Latin rhythms, a fluttering flute motif with a gently thundering drum beat. The sounds are pleasant without being sleepy. They are innovative without going too far afield. “Explicaciones” will be available in stores and online.
January, 2019