Carmen Lundy

Born: November 1, 1954

"Musicians as diversely gifted as Carmen Lundy, who has excelled as a vocalist, composer, lyricist, arranger, and pianist for more than three decades, remain far and few between." - Jazz Times

Grammy® Nominated Jazz singer, composer and arranger Carmen Lundy hails from Miami, Florida and received her B.M. degree from the University of Miami.  In 1978, Lundy moved to NYC and in 1985, she released her first solo album entitled Good Morning Kiss, which topped the Billboard chart for 23 weeks.

Currently on the Afrasia Productions label, Carmen is a 2021 Grammy® Nominated artist for her 15th and newest album Modern Ancestors, for Best Jazz Vocal Album.  Her previous release, 2017’s Code Noir, debuted at #6 on the Billboard Jazz Chart and received both critical and popular acclaim. Carmen’s other releases and discography consist of “Good Morning Kiss” (CLR/Afrasia Productions), “Moment To Moment” (Arabesque/Afrasia Productions), “Night And Day” (CBS/SONY and re-issued by Afrasia in 2011), “Old Devil Moon” (JVC), “Self Portrait” (JVC), “Something To Believe In” and “This Is Carmen Lundy” (both for Justin Time), “Jazz and The New Songbook – Live at The Madrid” (2-disc set and DVD, Afrasia Productions), “Come Home”, “Solamente”, “Changes”, “Soul To Soul” and “Code Noir” (Afrasia Productions). All have topped the Best Albums and Top Ten Albums lists on JazzWeek, Downbeat, and JazzTimes.

Sheila Jordan, Nancy King, Ola Onabule, Dara Starr Tucker, Nicolas Bearde and More!

by Jua Howard
August 29, 2025

Greetings Music Family! It's time for another episode of the “First Instrument Jazz Show." I've got music from two vocal jazz giants who recently joined the ancestors, Sheila Jordanand Nancy King. I also have a lot of new music to share including music from Ola Onabule, Dara Tucker, Sinne Eeg, Kelly Green, Camille Thurman and Peter ...

Johnny O'Neal, Somi, The Ostara Project, Blossom Dearie and More

by Jua Howard
May 6, 2025

Greetings Music Family! It's finally time for another episode of the “First Instrument Jazz Show"! I've got new music from Johnny O'Neal, The Ostara Project, Hard Bop Messengers and Kurt Elling; and more timeless music from Nancy Wilson, Somi, Blossom Dearie, Bilal, The RH Factor and many more. Come get lost in the music with me! ...

Vanisha Gould, Mark Murphy, Laila Biali, the Manhattan Transfer and More

by Jua Howard
December 10, 2024

Welcome Music Family! As usual, I've got a great show in store for you including some holiday cheer. I've got new music from Laila Biali, Vanisha Gould, Catherine Russell, and Anais Reno; and plenty more timeless music from artists such as Mark Murphy, Chaka Khan,Emilie-Claire Barlow and The Manhattan Transfer. Come get lost in the music ...

Naomi Moon Siegel, Jazzmeia Horn, Luis Giraldo and Diana Panton, Birthday Shoutouts & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
November 11, 2024

This broadcast includes new releases from Naomi Moon Siegel, Jazzmeia Horn, Luis Giraldo and Diana Panton, with birthday shoutouts to Ethel Waters, Sippie Wallace, Julia Lee, Houston Person, Andy Bey, Carmen Lundy, Allison Miller and Jane Monheit, among others. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear. See them live, purchase their music so they ...

Detroit Jazz Festival 2024: The Year of Alice

by Paul Rauch
September 12, 2024

Detroit Jazz Festival 2024 Hart Plaza & Campus Martius Detroit, MI August 30-September 2, 2024 An annual pilgrimage to the Detroit Jazz Festival allows a jazz fan, or in this case, a jazz journalist, to reset to an internal default setting for what this music means to us on a very ...

Ernestine Anderson, Kalil Wilson, Gabrielle Cavassa and More

by Jua Howard
June 3, 2024

Welcome Music Family! This week I'm sharing more heartfelt music including songs from Ernestine Anderson, Kalil Wilson, Gabrielle Cavassa, Billy Eckstine, Dianne Reeves and Michael Stephenson. Come get lost in the music with me! Playlist Intro 00:00 Dianne Reeves “Midnight Sun" from When You Know (Blue Note) 2:35 Michael Stephenson “Vanity" from Outskirts of ...

Back Home in Kansas City

By Bobby Watson

Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2023
Track listing: 1. "Back Home in Kansas City" 2. "Red Bank Heist" 3. "Our Love Remains" 4. "Bon Voyage" 5. "The Star is in the East" 6. "Mind Wine" 7. "Celestial" 8. "Dear Lord" 9. "Side Steps" 10. "I'm Glad There is You" 11. "Blues for Alto"

New Releases From Stacey Kent, Angela DeNiro With Ron Aprea Big Band, Cory Weeds, Emmet Cohen, Janet Evra, Vocalist Birthday Celebrations & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
November 13, 2023

This broadcast includes new releases from Stacey Kent, Angela DeNiro with the Ron Aprea Big Band, Emmet Cohen feat. Houston Person, Cory Weeds, Janet Evra and Defne Sahin, with birthday shoutouts to blues women Sippie Wallace, Ethel Waters, vocalists Carmen Lundy, Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Julia Lee, Lauren Henderson and Jane Monheit, among others. Thanks for ...

Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter at Boulder Theater

by Steven Roby
October 13, 2023

Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter Boulder Theater Boulder, CO October 8, 2023 Supporting their latest collaboration album, SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree (Edition Records, 2023), jazz icon Kurt Elling and guitar maestro Charlie Hunter offered a high-energy performance on October 8th at the Boulder Theater. The incredible duo's band featured Julius Rodriguez ...