Laura Andrea Leguia
Laura Andrea Leguía started her musical career in the National Conservatory of Lima, Peru. Laura Andrea has played the saxophone worldwide along artists such as Deepak Chopra, Maria Schneider, Ingrid Jensen, Alex Acuña, Eva Ayllón, Arturo O'Farrill, the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet, and the Laura Andrea Leguia Afro-Peruvian Big Band, in which she participates as band leader, saxophonist and composer.
Saxofón Criollo, her debut solo album, emphasizes the composition of songs in traditional Peruvian Criollo style, with harmonies that belong in the jazz tradition. The melodies are very lyrical, as most of her compositions have accompanying lyrics.
Laura Andrea Leguía obtained her Masters in Composition from New York University in May of 2012, where she studied jazz composition under Gil Goldstein and Kenny Werner. In February of 2014, her first big band piece was commissioned by New York Foundation for the Arts to be performed by the historic Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra at the Symphony Space within the framework of the Música Nueva festival.
In July of 2015 the Laura Andrea Leguía Afro-Peruvian big band had a very successful debut at the Symphony Space, in a concert commemorating Peruvian Independence Day and sponsored by the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce.
In August of 2015, the Instituto Cultural Peruano Británico in Lima commissioned a full program of music for the 10th Festival de Ensambles, which featured international musicians as well as local conservatory students, in a week long event. The 8 pieces were performed in concert venues in different areas of Lima, and served as a fram to the annual Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest.
"The RS Berkeley soprano is effortlessly in tune, with an even tone throughout the horn. The action is quick, lays comfortably in the hand, and is very quiet in recording settings."