Multilingual Singer-Songwriter & Pianist.
Based in Miami & Mexico.
Hailed by the press as “the voice of an angel [whose] poise and command of the stage is both mesmerizing and captivating,” (Debra Graff, Sleepless in Studio City), international recording artist, songwriter and pianist Julia Vari “shines whether performing pop, jazz, or various Latin music styles, all of which she can deftly sing in eight different languages.” (George Varga, San Diego Union Tribune).
Recognized as “without a doubt the most important voice of her genre in Mexico” (Mario Moreno Ivanova, son of Cantinflas), the multilingual artist has enchanted audiences around the globe for nearly a decade, including recent performances at Mexico City’s National Auditorium “Lunario,” the CARIFESTA International Festival in Haiti, Berlin stage in Madrid, National Arts Center in Ottawa, CLAZZ Latin Festival (sharing the stage with Arturo Sandoval), and Vitello’s Supper Club in Los Angeles.
She has toured extensively through the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Spain behind a pair of ground-breaking, chart-topping full-length album releases: a jazz-inflected fusion titled Lumea: Songs of the World in Jazz(2013), followed by Adoro(2015). Both albums soared to the top of the jazz-blues charts in Latin America, competing with artists such as Michael Buble and Diana Krall, and these events consequently led her to share the stage and collaborate with musical icons such as Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval, Armando Manzanero, Grammy-winning singer Luciana Souza, Grammy-winning producer Robert Hadley, Latin Grammy-winning producer Mario Santos, and Latin Grammy-nominated artist Francisco Cespedes.
Vari’s most recent discographic material, Intimo (2020), is an intimate and carefully selected repertoire of boleros and original songs elegantly interpreted by Vari on piano and vocals, with guest artists including the renowned Mexican bolero singer Carlos Cuevas.
The child of a classically-trained pianist mother and an accomplished guitar player father who became a medical doctor, Vari bounced back and forth for many years between the USA and Mexico, as well as some time spent in Europe; as a result, she has long considered herself a citizen of the world. Vari has made it a matter of practice to defy creative and imaginative limits, as her dynamically eclectic repertoire spans across a vast spectrum of genres and languages—she sings and has recorded material in six languages beyond her native English and Spanish. At University of Rochester’s renowned Eastman School of Music, her studies included voice, piano theory and composition, as well as musical theater training at New York University.
With an extraordinary voice that can growl its way through a torchy love song one moment, go operatic the next and then shift smoothly into pop, swing, or any other musical idiom, Vari’s passion is mixing different genres into exciting fusions. Her unparalleled vocal charisma is at equally home with jazz, boleros, world rhythms, or pop, and perhaps more so in those unmined spaces where those overlap. She has been called the “Diana Krall of Mexico,” often surprising her audience with her piano stylings, and more recently has been known to perform solo piano-voice concerts in addition to quartet and big band.
Julia Vari now divides her time between Miami and Mexico City, where she also created and developed a successful jazz series entitled Condesa Jazz Nights in the Condesa neighborhood. Vari is a proud voting member of the Latin Recording Academy (LARAS), a BMI songwriter, and a William Morris Endeavor Agency exclusive artist for Voice Overs.
Recent performances include:
USA:
Vitellos Supper Club, Los Angeles
UCLA Semel Auditorium, Los Angeles
The Eclectic Music Festival, Pasadena
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego
Mexican Cultural Institute’s theater, Washington DC
The Loft, San Diego
Biola University, Los Angeles
Mingei Museum, San Diego
Latin American Music Festival, San Diego
Dizzy’s Jazz Club, San Diego
Berbers Supper Club, San Francisco
Le Chat Noir, Miami
The Betsy Hotel Music Series, Miami
Wynwood Yard, Miami
Alfaros Stage, Miami
SPAIN:
Real Carlos Theater, Aranjuez
Clamores Theater, Madrid
Bogui Jazz Club, Madrid
Berlin Café, Madrid
Real Carlos Theater, Aranjuez
Harlem Jazz Club, Barcelona
El Continental, Barcelona
Garufa, Corunha
Dado Dadda Jazz Club, Santiago de Compostela
Luar, Santiago de Compostela
MEXICO:
National Auditorium “Lunario,” Mexico City
Mexico City’s Main Plaza “Zocalo,” Mexico City
Angela Peralta Theater, Mexico City
Julio Castillo Theater, Mexico City
Guanajuato International Film Festival, Guanajuato
CECUT Theater, Tijuana
Pablo Villavicencio Theater, Culiacan
Luminaria Festival, Atizapan
San Miguel de Allende International Jazz Festival
Felipe Villanueva Theater, Toluca
Quimera Festival, Metepece
Festival de las Almas, Valle de Bravo
Festival CEIBA, Tabasco
Jose Alfredo Jimenez Festival, Dolores Hidalgo
Irapuato Jazz Festival, Irapuato
LATIN AMERICA:
CARIFESTA International Festival, Port au Prince
CLAZZ International Jazz Festival
Fedenador Theater, Guayaquil
Fepade Auditorium, San Salvador
El Salvador International Jazz Festival
Dick Smith Theater, Guatemala City
Chico Museum, Bogota
Recent press includes:
San Diego Union Tribune (USA) – L.A. Weekly (USA) – The Dante Night Show (USA)
El Pais (Spain) – EFE (Spain) – La Opinion (Spain) – SercanoTV (USA) – Reforma (Mexico) Excelsior (Mexico) – Milenio (Mexico) – La Jornada (Mexico) – El Financiero (Mexico) Susana Adiccion (Mexico) – Alfa 91.3 con Tono Esquinca (Mexico) – Grupo Formula
Maxine Woodside (Mexico) – Televisa Radio (Mexico) – La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador) Prensa Libre (Guatemala) – Esta de Moda (Ecuador)
PRESS QUOTES
“Vari shines whether performing jazz, pop, or various Latin music styles, all of which she can deftly sing in eight different languages.”
– George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune
“A full house [at Mexico City’s National Auditorium ‘Lunario’] was the perfect setting for the reknowned jazz artist [Julia Vari], who created an unforgettable night filled with romance and her unique style.”
– Jorge Luis Santa Maria, DigitallPost
“Julia Vari has positioned herself as one of the most important Latin American jazz singers of our time.”
– Fabian Vazquez, CIO Noticias TV, Mexico
“Without a doubt the most important voice of her genre in Mexico”
– Mario Moreno Ivanova, son of Cantinflas
“[Julia Vari’s] Performance was pure perfection. She has the voice of an angel who swings her heart out, and her poise and command of the stage is mesmerizing and captivating. I felt like I was in the presence of mastery.”
– Debra Graff, Sleepless in Studio City, Los Angeles
“An avant-garde concept always stands out. This is why singer and pianist Julia Vari has earned herself an important spot in [the music scene] with an innovative and unique fusion project. Known for her elegance and outstanding vocal technique– taking into account that she can sing in Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Hebrew – Vari has achieved presence and recognition in Latin America, USA and Europe. [Vari] offers an exquisite selection of songs from Mexico and many other countries, completely renewed and refreshed in jazz-bossa-funk fusions.”
