Sara Valenzuela

When Guadalajara-based singer/songwriter Sara Valenzuela is not churning out the most charming indie pop ever to have emerged from Mexico -- see Lado Este, her <a href="spotify:artist:3X0tJzVYoWlfjLYI0Ridsw">Suzanne Vega</a>-flavored 2005 solo debut, on which <a href="spotify:artist:7jAeRfT8LYCxydM2Y1Egvn">Marc Ribot</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:2BGRfQgtzikz1pzAD0kaEn">Elvis Costello</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7x83XhcMbOTl1UdYsPTuZM">Tom Waits</a>) and <a href="spotify:artist:3n2knKFx0TQPOTyyPHM2g1">Melvin Gibbs</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:5tdgsNGbOvPQZjcco3yOMt">Rollins Band</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0rSTXALHu0EKAawPLBdODH">Marisa Monte</a>) pitch in -- the former lead singer of the pop-punk act <a href="spotify:artist:4sGkNo2iD0Mr963lqnTil7">La Dosis</a> hosts the radio program Jazz Solo in her hometown. She began hosting the show in 1991, and although most artists would consider weekly DJ duties a sideline, for Valenzuela they're a gateway to more informed artistry.

"I didn't know I liked jazz when I started the show," said Valenzuela, who was born in Mexico City in 1968 and moved to Guadalajara soon after. "But when I started to dig in I realized I liked the music a lot. And all different kinds, from ragtime to avant-garde. I used to be influenced by <a href="spotify:artist:67ea9eGLXYMsO2eYQRui3w">the Who</a>, by <a href="spotify:artist:7C4sUpWGlTy7IANjruj02I">Peter Gabriel</a>, but also by soul singers like <a href="spotify:artist:3koiLjNrgRTNbOwViDipeA">Marvin Gaye</a>. Now I'm influenced by <a href="spotify:artist:1YzCsTRb22dQkh9lghPIrp">Billie Holiday</a> and other jazz singers, because I try to be more open. It's easier to find your voice that way," said Valenzuela in a phone interview shortly after the stateside release of Lado Este on independent label Nacional Records.

Fans who helped land <a href="spotify:artist:4sGkNo2iD0Mr963lqnTil7">La Dosis</a> their contract with Sony during the band's 1994 to 2001 run made known their approval for the voice Valenzuela was inhabiting then: the act released three albums to wide acclaim. But after years of collaborating, Valenzuela felt the pull to perform independently. That decision -- birthed with Lado Este -- pays off in the sleepy, well-worn vocals of such songs as "Para Continuar" and "Si Me Voy." As with most successful Spanish-language singers, Valenzuela's voice requires no translation, only the willingness to succumb (in her case) to a thoughtful state of mind. Even so, Valenzuela plans to return to fronting a band. Actually, two: with Guadalajara's Soul Tonic, she will perform soul covers, and with Cheek Freak, also from Guadalajara, she will dabble in experimental jazz-rock. ~ Tammy La Gorce, Rovi