Album Notes

New album Junkyard Jewel: Please visit CDBaby.com/cd/mayaazucena

The attractive Brooklyn, NY native fuelled by an obsession for crafting riveting tracks and stirring up faithful audiences with spirited live sets has since taken on “hardest-working” status. Not only has a burgeoning résumé of impressive accomplishments been the result, but also a resounding buzz often reserved for those touted as a star in the making. The range of those accomplishments is a reflection of the truly creative artist she is and the enormous ability she possesses proving the buzz is certainly warranted. AllHipHop.com recently named the one time aspiring actress “Best Alternative Artist of the Year,” while Soultracks.com has touted her as a “Best Female Vocalist of the Year” nominee.

Maya Azucena has shared stages or been on bills with legendary artists, vets and newcomers from the worlds of R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock and more. Artists such as Roberta Flack, Bilal, Martin Luther, Jaguar Wright, Joss Stone, Leon Ware, Richard Bona, Lupe Fiasco, Big Daddy Kane, the Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight, Anthony Hamilton, Platinum Pied Pipers, and John Legend. In addition to crisscrossing the US with riveting performances she's toured cities in Canada, Italy, England as well as Stockholm, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Croatia where Croatian superstar, Gibonni enlisted Maya’s vocal talents for a track on his latest CD named, “Andejo U Tebi” (''Angel In You''). As a result their collaboration garnered 2 Croatian Grammy awards and a stellar performance at the televised ceremony.

Maya is also featured on Grammy-winning producer/songwriter and son of the legendary Bob Marley, Stephen Marley’s track, “Let Her Dance”, from his latest Universal/Tuff Gong release Mind Control. Maya currently has the #3 spot on BILLBOARD’S Hot Dance chart with the single, “Make It Happen” on Kult Records. And there is still a long list of collaborations with notable producers such as Devo Springsteen, DJ Bob Sinclair, Jonathan Peters and Rich Medina, artists, rappers and DJs in addition to her voice grabbing your attention through national NAIR commercials in "The Less You Wear" and “Short Shorts” campaigns plus others like Johnson&Johnson, Icy Hot, Macy’s INC, Mike's Hard Lemonade and Longhorn Steakhouse. She has sung on Washington DC's historic Mall at the Save Darfur rally against genocide in the Sudan, in solidarity with national activists and celebrities such as Barack Obama, Al Sharpton, and George Clooney.

All that Maya Azucena has done thus far is indeed impressive. Not merely by the amount of things there are, but because of the realization of something taking place that means far more to her. That something is growth. On the back cover of her debut CD she then wrote, “I am a work in progress.” This was both a refreshing and revealing statement. For one, she was being incredibly modest for even then she displayed great ability, poise and professionalism that immediately hoisted her among the premiere artists to watch on the soul scene. But is was also a declaration from the start that she is a sincere, creative artist first, driven by the desire to move an audience emotionally and physically – challenging herself each time to explore ways to do it differently- do it better.


“Deep and soul-bearing, she (Azucena) sings like she's been everywhere and seen it all,” says CDBaby.com, the online music store where many of Azucena’s independent sales are made. “This soul/R&B/hip hop album is a fantastic launching point for a young woman with a bright and long career ahead of her.”