Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcela Pinilla. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marcela , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My first official performance was at the age of 5 and at age 14 I become a full time vocalist, it all kind of happened naturally although I though maybe at some point I would do something else on the side as well. However I was staying so busy with shows there was no time for much else really, And then it happened, I was 20 years old and I was performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I heard a singer scatting for the first time, there and then I fell in love with the voice as an instrument and I knew singing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and discovered a love for singing and dancing before I could even read and write. My professional career started at age 14 and by age 15, I joined my first international tour. During that time I earned the respect of musicians in my community, which opened doors and I was invited to collaborate in several music projects. While touring in Asia, I became fascinated with jazz and scat singing. As my passion grew I kept working on my singing and had the opportunity to join the band Jazz Latino and performed with the group at notable jazz festivals such as Sunrise Music Festival, the Kuala Lumpur Music Festival, and the Kuching Jazz Festival.
After my voyage through Asia with jazz, the next move was to Memphis, Tennessee, where I was exposed to more jazz, blues and soul. There I collaborated with several Memphis acts, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, and American soul group The Bar-Kays, also performed with the Memphis Jazz Trio and had a residency with them at the legendary Beale Street. It was also in Memphis that the Marcela Pinilla Band was formed and had their very first performance at the Levitt Shell with a tribute to Latin American music.

While in Memphis, I wrote and recorded “Un Mundo Bueno”, an inspiring song that features eight talented young singers from the Memphis Latino community. There I got to work with the community through the Memphis Music Foundation and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell proclaimed October 13th, 2012 a Day to Celebrate the Life of Marcela Pinilla. In 2013, received the Ruby Wharton Award for Youth from Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton, and was named the “Latin Voice of Memphis” by bilingual newspaper La Prensa Latina.

In May 2013, I released my first full-length album, PASSION. A blend of Latin alternative music influenced by jazz, blues and soul the album showcases the artist’s limitless versatility. PASSION features collaborations with several musicians including Elsten Torres and two world-renowned Grammy award winners saxophonist Kirk Whalum, and bassist Victor Wooten.

Today, Nashville, Tennessee is home where I perform regularly around town and had been nominated at the Nashville Industry Music Awards as best jazz vocalist in 2016, 2017 and 2018, I’m part of the teaching artists for the Tennessee Performing arts Center for their program with Disney as well as being one of the songwriter teaching artists for the Country Music Hall of Fame.

My favorite part of doing what I do is to bring people together, to look at the crowd and see a diverse group of people singing and dancing together. For duration of the show we are all about the music and having a good time regardless of gender, race, language etc

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A book that has really made a big impact in my life is The Music Lesson written by my friend Victor Wooten. It looks about music and life in a beautiful magical way that will for sure challenge the way we see or rather feel music at very different levels

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to bring happiness into this world, for people to leave my shows feeling uplifted and in good spirits, the world keeps turning at such a rapid pace, it feels those moments to actually enjoy are more and more limited. I love making people dance and creating that space for they to have a good time and the bigger the diversity in the crowd the better

Contact Info:

• Website: marcelapinilla.com
• Instagram: marcelapinillamusic
• Facebook: Marcela Pinilla Music
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marcelapinilla

Image Credits
Images IMG_1882 and Percu were taking by photographer Christopher Parks