ABOUT
Maria Alejandra Quintanilla puts her full heart into her work. The songs are mostly intimate, often fragile, but all the more honest, turning into powerful statements […] a vocalist who is confident in every setting.”
JAZZPORT
Maria Alejandra Quintanilla is a TRANSdisciplinary Auteur, Co-Director, and Recording Artist at W&J Productions in NEW YORK CITY.
Peruvian-born and Los Angeles-raised, her insatiable curiosity has enabled her to create work across diverse mediums, including music, painting, film, and poetry. Renowned for her spontaneous and experimental approach, Maria Alejandra’s practice is fueled by a desire to explore what is bare and unfiltered, where both personal experiences and the world collide to evoke undeniable emotion.
Maria Alejandra has released two albums as a co-leader with a primary focus on improvisation. Distance Chemistry (2016) is a live recording built upon improvised arrangements of timeless standards and several spontaneous compositions. Breathing Taiwan (2017)is a blend of composed and spontaneous compositions that tell mythical stories of Taiwanese tribes and hidden traditions.
Her performances have graced prominent stages worldwide, including the Kinshasa International Jazz Festival in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the International Portuguese Festival in Montreal, Canada, the NAMM Conference in Anaheim, California, The Vortex Jazz Club in London, Great Britain, and Summerstage in New York’s Central Park.
Maria Alejandra has also contributed to various transdisciplinary projects such as Vozes na Névoa (documentary soundtrack), at a volume only you can hear (poetry research and recording), and Portugal: Sonic Paths and Possibilities (commissioned concert presentation by Instituto Camões and the Portuguese Embassy in the United States). Her original composition “Shade of White” was selected as a 2020 semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition out of over 26,000 entries.
Currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Jazz Performance at the University of Miami, Maria Alejandra also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She holds the prestigious title of Henry Mancini Fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute, under the artistic direction of Grammy Award-winning composer Maria Schneider. In recognition of her exceptional scholarly contributions, Maria Alejandra was selected as a 2025 recipient of the P.E.O. Scholar Award, an honor bestowed on 100 distinguished women from the U.S. and Canada for excellence in merit-based research.
Maria Alejandra holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the State University of New York Purchase, where she served as the Vocal Performance Teaching Artist for the Cultural Immersion Arts Abroad Program, mentoring international students from diverse backgrounds and specializations. As a recipient of the Thayer Fellowship, an exclusive award given to only three individuals from a pool of 500,000 SUNY students – Maria Alejandra was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the arts. She is the first artist to receive the Ella Fitzgerald Scholarship for two professional degrees (B.M., M.M.). She has proudly represented Ella Fitzgerald in numerous centennial performances, including Blue Note Jazz Club and Jazz at Lincoln Center, alongside the Purchase Jazz Orchestra, under the baton of Dr. Todd Coolman and Jon Faddis.
Maria’s debut solo project, Irrefragible Laws (2024), explores the intersections of acoustic and electronic sound, field recordings, percussion, extended vocal techniques, and spoken poetry. The project blends elements of jazz, visual art, photography, and contemporary classical music and is available exclusively on Bandcamp.
Curriculum Vitae is available upon request.
QUOTES
“Relentless vulnerability, fearless honesty, technical confidence, and pure expression of the human experience. My friends, this a true artist—right here, right now.”
“It is rare that you hear a singer like Maria Alejandra Quintanilla. She infuses exploration with beauty, courage, vulnerability, and strength. Her creativity knows no bounds. Maria’s collaboration with her partner Renato Diz manifests their unerring desire to find new sounds and stories, and to travel far and beyond.”
“Adventurous, modern, compelling, with an expressive vocal instrument capable of anything […] shows an artist with an open-minded, inviting compositional/improvisational style who’s unafraid to be herself - what a wonderful attribute in a world that tries so hard to make you anything but.”
“Rare is the vocalist willing to invite the listener all the way in and through composition, improvisation, and performance intentionally expose their raw, intimate and honest self. Unique, too, is the project led by a vocalist so courageous, innovative, beautiful, captivating, and compelling that each listen evokes new discovery. Maria Alejandra Quintanilla is that extraordinary artist who has redefined the role of the voice and, with visual imagery and poetry, forged a new collaborative style with her latest release, Irrefragible Laws.”
“Sensational vocalist and transdisciplinary artist Maria Alejandra Quintanilla has created a hauntingly beautiful tapestry of sound, poetry, and images that shoot straight to the heart. With often minimal accompaniment by the wonderful pianist Renato Diz, Maria’s angelic-like tone imbues tremendous emotional weight and gravity in every note. The creative use of subtle vocal and synth sound effects and colors round out this sparse musical canvas to create a truly unique palette of sound. Irrefragible Laws is truly a one-of-a-kind sonic and visual experience — one in which all elements work in tandem with Quintanilla’s extraordinary voice to create a deeply emotional experience for the listener.”
“I have always admired Maria Alejandra Quintanilla’s beautiful voice, both strong and tender in ways that bring to mind the introspective sides of Laura Nero and Adele. From the first percussive vocal sounds of her new work, Irrefragible Laws, we know this will be a gripping journey. Grappling with intimate interiors, she grabs shreds of language to build a new emotional map through a ghostly world. We travel with her and are enriched.”
“I first encountered Ms. Quintanilla as a vocalist, but as her artistry has expanded and matured, it has been great to see and hear her integration of many art forms in such a collaborative and cohesive manner. Combining visual art, poetry, and even areas that border on the blurred line between fantasy, reality, and spirituality, she takes the listener/participant on a multi-faceted journey of the senses. She seems to be forging her way into an entirely individual and personal art form that can touch the observer in any number of ways. Brava and onward!”