Magos Herrera and her jazz quartet – joined by a string quartet drawn from members of the orchestral collective The Knights – will present REMANSO, a musical scrapbook Herrera composed during COVID-19 isolation. “Remanso” can be translated in English to mean “backwater,” a remote or isolated place. The word can also describe the flow of a river that runs slowly or stops.

For the last two years, as a result of the global pandemic, humanity has experienced a pause - resulting in feelings of loss and grief. This cessation of activity has created a space to reflect on the unconscious inertia of daily life, mindsets of constant anticipation, and separation from what is essential to us as individuals and as societies.

For Herrera, this time was an opportunity to initiate a personal pilgrimage, to ground her voice where it belongs, to continue nurturing a musical path filled with purpose, and an invitation to create a conscious, truer connection with the world.

The New York-based Grammy-nominated Mexican singer and composer is one of the most expressive, beautiful voices in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. Herrera is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her bold style, which fuses elements of contemporary jazz with Latin American melodies and rhythms. In her return to live performances she will be joined by her Trio composed of Vinícius Gomes on guitar, Sam Minaie on bass, and Alex Kautz on drums. Magos will also be joined on stage by a string quartet composed of members of The Knights (Alex Fortes and Yaira Matyakubova on violin, Mario Gotoh on viola, and Caitlin Sullivan on cello).

The program will include new arrangements commissioned by Americas Society, songs included in the 2020 album Con Alma, and new original music written by Herrera with support from a Chamber Music Americas New Jazz Works grant.

This program is also supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.