CARMEN LUNDY
Artist Website: Carmen Lundy
Social Media Pages: IG | Facebook
Streaming Services: YouTube
High Resolution Photo Link
|
|
|
|
|
Award-winning and twice GRAMMY-nominated singer, composer, film producer, and visual artist Carmen Lundy was recently named an NEA Jazz Master and awarded the Jazz Legacies Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation and The Jazz Foundation of America in 2025. She is regarded by many as the finest female jazz singer performing today and is highly regarded for her innovative musicianship, showmanship and songwriting. She has penned more than two hundred compositions to date, especially rare for a vocalist.
After five decades as a recording artist, she carries an artistic weight that has resulted in sold-out shows across North America including the Kennedy Center. She is at the top of her game and recent performances at the Central Avenue Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, were cited as artistic highlights. Real Jazz Sirius XM program director Mark Ruffin named her concert at the DC Jazz Festival in 2024 as the concert performance of the year.
A critically acclaimed recording artist, Lundy has received noteworthy praise from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and numerous other foreign and domestic publications. As a composer, Lundy's music has been recorded by artists Kenny Barron, Ernie Watts and Straight Ahead with Regina Carter, among others.
Carmen Lundy began her career in Miami while still in her teens and graduated with a degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami. Having performed with her brother, Curtis Lundy, and the likes of Bruce Hornsby and Jaco Pastorius, she then moved to New York and soon continued performing and recording with such musicians as Ray Barretto, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kip Hanrahan, Robert Glasper, Geri Allen, Bobby Watson, and Courtney Pine to name a few.
Carmen Lundy has performed at the most prestigious festivals and concert halls in Japan, Europe, Australia, South America, Africa, the U.S. and Canada. A captivating live performer, Carmen Lundy’s concerts are an exhibition of virtuosity, raw heartfelt emotion, and playfulness– a jazz singer at her very best.
Hew extraordinary new album, Notes From The Wine Cellar, set for release August 21, 2026 on Afrasia Productions is her 17th album. Created over the course of the past several years but recorded in January of 2026, the record’s arrival coincides with Carmen being named a 2026 NEA Jazz Master, the highest accolade a Jazz artist can receive.
Fade to Black, Carmen Lundy’s 16th album and one of her most personal to date and was nominated for a GRAMMY. Her previous album Modern Ancestors was also nominated for a GRAMMY. The 11 original songs on Fade to Black, written and arranged by Carmen Lundy, were conceived during the challenging months of the pandemic and reflect this time of great loss, sorrow, healing, and hope for a brighter, more inclusive future for us all. Tackling the difficult social issues of our time while also musing on the joys of love and relationships, this stunning set of songs takes us on an emotional journey that culminates in the extraordinary hymn-like ballad titled “Rest In Peace”.
Carmen Lundy has performed at the most prestigious festivals and concert halls in Japan, Europe, Australia, South America, Africa, the U.S. and Canada. A captivating live performer, Carmen Lundy’s concerts are an exhibition of virtuosity, raw heartfelt emotion, and playfulness– a jazz singer at her very best.
Carmen Lundy served as a lecturer in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. She has conducted masterclasses worldwide, including at Harvard University, where she was named Jazz Master in Residence in 2023, and has served on the faculty of the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program since 1999. She also received the University of Miami’s Inaugural Centennial Medal of Honor in 2023. In 2025, Carmen was awarded the high distinction of being in the inaugural class of the Jazz Foundation of America Jazz Legacies Fellowship, with support from The Mellon Foundation.
Beyond music, Lundy is also a visual artist whose works have been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, and Washington, DC. She has designed/created all her own album covers since establishing the Afrasia Productions record label with co-owner Elisabeth Oei. Her documentary, Nothing But The Blood (2022), chronicling her family's gospel group, won Best Music Documentary at the DTLA Film Festival. Lundy is also an actor, portraying Billie Holiday in They Were All Gardenias by Lawrence Holder and starring in the International tour of Broadway’s Sophisticated Ladies. She also portrayed Mary Lou Williams in a two-character play with the late, great pianist Geri Allen, “A Conversation With Mary Lou,” written by Farah Jasmine Griffin and Directed by S. Epatha Merkerson.
In addition to concert programs, Carmen Lundy offers master class and education programs, art installations, and film screenings.
The Critics Speak:
“Carmen Lundy’s dynamic Chicago performance confirms she knows how to pace a show, where to ratchet up the intensity, and when it’s time to let everything settle back to earth.” – Chicago Tribune
“Lots to dig about Lundy’s unique approach. Unusual atmosphere to these topical, political, and romantic songs, which are slickly produced, super shiny sounding, but also have tactility and frame her wonderful voice…. Lundy’s ruggedly conversational lyrics and welcome social commentary inhabit territory Abbey Lincoln and Marvin Gaye both might recognize.” – Downbeat
“Carmen Lundy, as beautiful inside as out, has accomplished the near impossible for a jazz singer by maintaining a solid, successful career while focusing largely on original, self-penned material.” – Jazz Times
“Carmen Lundy dazzles Ronnie Scott’s with commanding EFG London Jazz Festival show.” – Peter Jones, Jazzwise
“Catch Carmen. In a world of pretenders, she’s a genuine jazz singer.” – London Evening Standard
“A talented multi-instrumentalist, restlessly inventive composer and husky-voiced singer ready to pick up the mantle from the likes of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, Carmen Lundy remains one of the most respected jazz voices of her generation.” – New York Times.
"I would like to call your attention to an authentic jazz singer named Carmen Lundy. She's got it all.” – The Village Voice
Select Discography:
Notes from The Wine Cellar (Afrasia, 2026)
Fade To Black (Afrasia, 2022)
Modern Ancestors (Afrasia, 2021)
Soul to Soul (Afrasia, 2014)
Come Home (Afrasia, 2008)
Jazz and the New Songbook - Live at the Madrid (Afrasia, 2007)
This is Carmen Lundy
(Justin Time, 2001)
After five decades as a recording artist, she carries an artistic weight that has resulted in sold-out shows across North America including the Kennedy Center. She is at the top of her game and recent performances at the Central Avenue Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, were cited as artistic highlights. Real Jazz Sirius XM program director Mark Ruffin named her concert at the DC Jazz Festival in 2024 as the concert performance of the year.
A critically acclaimed recording artist, Lundy has received noteworthy praise from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and numerous other foreign and domestic publications. As a composer, Lundy's music has been recorded by artists Kenny Barron, Ernie Watts and Straight Ahead with Regina Carter, among others.
Carmen Lundy began her career in Miami while still in her teens and graduated with a degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami. Having performed with her brother, Curtis Lundy, and the likes of Bruce Hornsby and Jaco Pastorius, she then moved to New York and soon continued performing and recording with such musicians as Ray Barretto, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kip Hanrahan, Robert Glasper, Geri Allen, Bobby Watson, and Courtney Pine to name a few.
Carmen Lundy has performed at the most prestigious festivals and concert halls in Japan, Europe, Australia, South America, Africa, the U.S. and Canada. A captivating live performer, Carmen Lundy’s concerts are an exhibition of virtuosity, raw heartfelt emotion, and playfulness– a jazz singer at her very best.
Hew extraordinary new album, Notes From The Wine Cellar, set for release August 21, 2026 on Afrasia Productions is her 17th album. Created over the course of the past several years but recorded in January of 2026, the record’s arrival coincides with Carmen being named a 2026 NEA Jazz Master, the highest accolade a Jazz artist can receive.
Fade to Black, Carmen Lundy’s 16th album and one of her most personal to date and was nominated for a GRAMMY. Her previous album Modern Ancestors was also nominated for a GRAMMY. The 11 original songs on Fade to Black, written and arranged by Carmen Lundy, were conceived during the challenging months of the pandemic and reflect this time of great loss, sorrow, healing, and hope for a brighter, more inclusive future for us all. Tackling the difficult social issues of our time while also musing on the joys of love and relationships, this stunning set of songs takes us on an emotional journey that culminates in the extraordinary hymn-like ballad titled “Rest In Peace”.
Carmen Lundy has performed at the most prestigious festivals and concert halls in Japan, Europe, Australia, South America, Africa, the U.S. and Canada. A captivating live performer, Carmen Lundy’s concerts are an exhibition of virtuosity, raw heartfelt emotion, and playfulness– a jazz singer at her very best.
Carmen Lundy served as a lecturer in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. She has conducted masterclasses worldwide, including at Harvard University, where she was named Jazz Master in Residence in 2023, and has served on the faculty of the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program since 1999. She also received the University of Miami’s Inaugural Centennial Medal of Honor in 2023. In 2025, Carmen was awarded the high distinction of being in the inaugural class of the Jazz Foundation of America Jazz Legacies Fellowship, with support from The Mellon Foundation.
Beyond music, Lundy is also a visual artist whose works have been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, and Washington, DC. She has designed/created all her own album covers since establishing the Afrasia Productions record label with co-owner Elisabeth Oei. Her documentary, Nothing But The Blood (2022), chronicling her family's gospel group, won Best Music Documentary at the DTLA Film Festival. Lundy is also an actor, portraying Billie Holiday in They Were All Gardenias by Lawrence Holder and starring in the International tour of Broadway’s Sophisticated Ladies. She also portrayed Mary Lou Williams in a two-character play with the late, great pianist Geri Allen, “A Conversation With Mary Lou,” written by Farah Jasmine Griffin and Directed by S. Epatha Merkerson.
In addition to concert programs, Carmen Lundy offers master class and education programs, art installations, and film screenings.
The Critics Speak:
“Carmen Lundy’s dynamic Chicago performance confirms she knows how to pace a show, where to ratchet up the intensity, and when it’s time to let everything settle back to earth.” – Chicago Tribune
“Lots to dig about Lundy’s unique approach. Unusual atmosphere to these topical, political, and romantic songs, which are slickly produced, super shiny sounding, but also have tactility and frame her wonderful voice…. Lundy’s ruggedly conversational lyrics and welcome social commentary inhabit territory Abbey Lincoln and Marvin Gaye both might recognize.” – Downbeat
“Carmen Lundy, as beautiful inside as out, has accomplished the near impossible for a jazz singer by maintaining a solid, successful career while focusing largely on original, self-penned material.” – Jazz Times
“Carmen Lundy dazzles Ronnie Scott’s with commanding EFG London Jazz Festival show.” – Peter Jones, Jazzwise
“Catch Carmen. In a world of pretenders, she’s a genuine jazz singer.” – London Evening Standard
“A talented multi-instrumentalist, restlessly inventive composer and husky-voiced singer ready to pick up the mantle from the likes of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, Carmen Lundy remains one of the most respected jazz voices of her generation.” – New York Times.
"I would like to call your attention to an authentic jazz singer named Carmen Lundy. She's got it all.” – The Village Voice
Select Discography:
Notes from The Wine Cellar (Afrasia, 2026)
Fade To Black (Afrasia, 2022)
Modern Ancestors (Afrasia, 2021)
Soul to Soul (Afrasia, 2014)
Come Home (Afrasia, 2008)
Jazz and the New Songbook - Live at the Madrid (Afrasia, 2007)
This is Carmen Lundy
(Justin Time, 2001)
