In Her Own Words
Commentary by Maureen Herron, Editor
©November 2007

Luciana Souza is an artist who brings all that she is to singing, playing and/or performing whether that’s a live performance or a soundstage at a recording studio.  Her sustainability is her stewardship, conveying in vocalization, wordless singing, solo or in relationship with her trio the sentiment that all is in balance in the ebb and flow of life.

One of five children born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Luciana grew up in a home in which her mother would recite poetry of Neruda when the children were wound up.  They would instantly stop, wondering what their mother was saying.  These were also the years of a dictatorship in Brazil.  At 41, Luciana notes how much her country has changed:  “The freedom of democracy. . .in some ways, there is a sense of order.”

Forever, though, her music and being will be a homage to her family, Neruda and the people she enfolds into her singing, some of those being Sting, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Brazilian singer, Jobim, to mention a few.  “Family and nurture is folded into everything I do,” states the singer.  Luciana believes today’s society is too loud, moving too fast.  Personally and professionally, Luciana regards the power of silence as part of life.  Noticeably, there are comfortable pauses for reflection or transition during a concert performance so the audience can regard, evaluate or respond to the harmony that’s created. It’s like taking the time to pick up a book….If you’re too busy to read, you can listen to Luciana’s music and let her voice pull you in to another world. 

Martha Lockert Photography

The world of sustainability is too practical sometimes.  A musician, Luciana uses percussion, piano and guitar as well as a thumb piano (African Kalimba or Mbira) to create twinkling, whimsical audio effects.  Through the medium of sound, Luciana relates to her audience.  For her, this is the method in which she can be active “in the best possible way”.  “Art changes people,” comments Luciana.  There are many things she, herself, cannot change.  Through her voice, there is movement:  the movement of response to her penetrating tones and the identification with that live performance, a created thing existing now, at this time, never to be the same again in another city, another night, another time.  And in that relationship of being together in a concert hall or listening to music in the privacy of your car or home, you are reminded you are not alone….There is a sense of community created in the experience of art as well.  With that experience of harmony in community, there is a sense of trust.  And trust is what jazz musicians have with one another: to improvise, to share with themselves and with the audience. The cycle of trust creates consciousness and is most conducive to functioning on a spontaneous level.  That’s the liberated spirit you see in Luciana’s smile, the cascading tempo you hear in her voice.

To engage in that moment in live performance is an invitation to the audience as well as the performers.  There is a rhythm that’s created, a silence that’s redolent, a listening to instruments together and separately complemented or led by Luciana’s voice.  The concert is a chance to escape the noise and stress of humdrum quick living and respond with all the senses and the heart to the sound and spirit of the artist who’s there to share to sing.  And sing Luciana does!  From liberating heights of joy to hesitant tones of human pain, Luciana has the talent to create a sense of place in relationship with her listeners whether they be physically present in body and soul or shaped by tones emitted from iTunes, the radio or other auditory choice. 

Authenticity is part of stewardship and sustainability.  While Luciana explores expressions of a new Bossa Nova in her current CD, her voice soars, whispers or hauntingly recreates moments of intensity which, in words, cannot guarantee permanence.  That is the beauty and pain of life:  the moment.  Equally, Luciana remind us “Silence is equally part of sound.”  She’s found the rhythm, the balance, the boundaries and the expression:  it’s both the giving and receiving, the stewardship and sustainability.  See www.lucianasouza.com for more information on the artist.