For those unaware, Peruvian American tenor saxophonist Lucia Sarmiento’s debut album Escape marks the arrival of a distinctive voice in contemporary jazz, one that blends daring improvisation with rich cultural influences and deep personal expression.

With her powerful, commanding sound and vibrant personality, Sarmiento brings an intensity to her music that resonates deeply with listeners, making her a rising star in the jazz world.

Sarmiento, now based in Chicago after spending ten years in Minneapolis, has crafted a record that’s both a tribute to her musical influences and a reflection of her journey as an artist. Escape is an exhilarating mix of smooth jazz, jazz fusion, Afro-Peruvian rhythms, funky beats, and synthesizer colors, all wrapped in the rich tones of her saxophone and flute.

But it’s also an album that highlights Sarmiento’s fearless approach to music — a trait she says she’s always carried with her. “When I play the saxophone, I love that feeling of danger,” she shares. “I’m drawn to music filled with intensity and risk that captures every fiber of your being in the moment; that’s why I love jazz.”

1. “Signal Flow”
2. “Morning Delight”
3. “Look Up”
4. “Porcelain”
5. “Dreamland”
6. “Escape”
7. “The Prof”
8. “Skipping A Beat”
9. “Rosie”
10. “Tape Town”
11. “Late Night Snacks”

This exciting tapestry that blends genres, styles, and cultures effortlessly, opens on the funky bebop styling of “Signal Flow” and the smooth jazz fusion rhythms that flow freely within “Morning Delight,” and they are followed by the elegant gossamer of Afro-Peruvian rhythms that drive “Look Up,” a magnificently harmonized, veritably ethereal at times “Porcelain” (itself a reimagined Red Hot Chili Peppers classic from 1999, and originally written for a lady Anthony Kiedis met at a YMCA in downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 1998), and then we are brought forth the melodic “Dreamland” (featuring Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri and his unique guitar work).

Along next is the musically emboldened title track Escape and the percussional brilliance “The Prof” (a collaboration with trumpeter Adam Meckler, and which is named after the Prophet 5 synthesizer), and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the romantically impassioned, yet stridently veined “Skipping A Beat,” her smooth rendition of John Mayer’s “Rosie,” the set rounding out on the free flowing “Tape Town” (inspired by Chris Potter’s 2009 album Ultrahang), closing on the short and sweet “Late Night Snacks,” itself a melodic continuation of “Skipping A Beat.”

Simply put, for listeners seeking a fresh, dynamic voice in jazz, Escape is the perfect entry point to Lucia Sarmiento’s extraordinary musical journey. So slip the CD into the player, push play, settle down into a cozy chair, shut your eyes and allow yourself to drift away within one of the most expressive, impressive works of musical art you will hear this year.

Lucia Sarmiento || Morning Delight [Studio Video]

Lucia Sarmiento || Porcelain [Studio Video]

Official Website

Lucia Sarmiento @ Facebook