Acuna’s Voice Is an Instrument of Wonder

The jazz world is filled with stories of extraordinary devotion to the music. But fewhave described more daunting odds than those faced by singer Claudia Acuna. Born in Chile--not exactly a jazz hotbed--she became fascinated with the music as a teenager. After quickly exhausting the then-somewhat limited jazz potential of Santiago, she moved to New York six years ago.

With little money, limited English and only a few contacts, Acuna survived by working as a baby-sitter, pet walker and dishwasher. She paid her musical dues by going to every jam session she could find and was eventually rewarded with a record contract with Verve Records. Her first album, “Wind From the South,” was released earlier this year to considerable critical acclaim.

And with good reason. Acuna is a natural, blessed with a gorgeous, honey-rich sound and an unerring sense of phrasing. On Thursday night at the Jazz Bakery, in her weeklong Los Angeles debut, she revealed a still-growing improvisational ability as well.

Concentrating largely on material from her album--tunes such as “Pure Imagination,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and the South American classic “Gracias de la Vida”--Acuna approached the music intent on stamping each piece with her own unique interpretation. “Gracias de la Vida,” for example, was rendered in a hard-swinging 3/4-rhythm; “Pure Imagination” became a frame for a soaring, long-toned melodic variation.

Although she frequently took improvisational flights of fancy, she avoided the pitfalls of bop-phrased scatting, sticking instead with nonverbal melodic invention, using her sound as another element in the instrumental ensemble.

All of Acuna’s set, in fact, underscored her belief (influenced by Abbey Lincoln, she said) that the singer participate as a musical equal with the players in her group. Often, after laying down an opening chorus or two, she stepped to the side of the stage, silently digging what piano player Jason Lindner was doing, or interacting via dancelike body movements with the roiling rhythms of the team of Omar Avital on bass and Daniel Freedman on drums.

Still finding her way, Acuna nonetheless has all the elements of a gifted jazz artist--one whose technical skills are matched by a multicultural heritage and an independent musical imagination.

* Claudia Acuna at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., L.A. Tonight at 8 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 7 and 8:30 p.m. $20 (310) 271-9039.