Gaby Moreno’s new album, Illustrated Songs, continues her love affair with the sounds of the blues, soul and jazz that captivated her as a girl. Although she was born and raised in Guatemala, it was the sounds of the American South that inspired her to become a songwriter and recording artist. “I heard an African American woman singing on the street in New York City when I was younger. I just froze. When I asked her what she called that music, she looked at me and said, ‘That’s the blues, honey.’”

Moreno co-produced Illustrated Songs with engineer Ryan Freeland (Aimee Mann, Grant-Lee Phillips, Ray LaMontagne). The album was cut live, in four days.Illustrated Songs includes tunes in Spanish and English. Moreno’s supple vocals are both soulful and elegant, casting an inviting spell that’s midway between innocence and experience.

The inventive orchestrations of Illustrated Songs highlight Moreno’s remarkable growth as a singer and songwriter. “I wanted to push myself this time and explore all the colors I hear in the music. Edith Piaf, The Boswell Sisters, classic boleros and Trio Los Panchos got into my brain and transported me to another era. I tapped into that when I was composing these songs”
 
Gaby Moreno was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Her family wasn’t particularly musical, but Moreno was singing before she could talk.
As soon as she was out of high school, Moreno came to the U.S. and enrolled at the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles. “I met my drummer Sebastian as well as my bass player Leslie there. Living in Los Angeles, surrounded by different musician friends, I discovered the classic rock of the Kinks, Zombies and Harry Nilsson.”
 
In 2006, she won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with her song “Escondidos,” first in the Latin category, then overall. That success gave her the confidence to produce her debut album, Still The Unknown. The album was played on KCRW and NPR, getting excellent reviews praising its sparse, elegant sound and Moreno’s quietly soulful vocals. The record’s success led to opening slots on tours with Tracy Chapman and Ani DiFranco. In 2010, an instrumental piece Moreno wrote with musician friend Vincent Jones was selected as the theme for the new NBC show Parks and Recreation. The theme earned an Emmy Nomination. Moreno’s tunes were also used on E!’s Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Lincoln Heights and Ghost Whisperer on ABC and MTV’s The Hills.
 
In the summer of 2010, Moreno played the Roskilde Festival in Denmark with singer/composer Van Dyke Parks, performing traditional Latin American songs mixed with Calypso and Americana music. Parks and Moreno are planning a recorded collaboration of standards, but in the meantime Moreno will stay busy touring Europe and the US to support Illustrated Songs.