CELIA JIMENEZ
Bassist · Composer · Vocalist

Celia Jimenez is a Cuban-born bassist, composer, vocalist, and classically trained bassoonist whose career spans continents and genres. She is a featured member of Jane Bunnett & Maqueque and contributed to the Grammy Awards–nominated album Oddara (2018) as well as the Juno Awards–winning album Maqueque (2015).

Jimenez has performed at internationally recognized venues and festivals including NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, Porgy & Bess Jazz Club (Vienna), the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and Kumbawa Jazz Center. In 2020, she performed at the Caucus Gala for the Democratic Presidential Candidates at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with American Riviera.

Her artistry reflects a refined fusion of jazz, Afro-Cuban traditions, and classical training, bringing depth, precision, and expressive range to both performance and composition.

Selected Performance Highlights

• Kennedy Center — Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

• Jazz at Lincoln Center — Dizzy’s Club

• Birdland — New York

• NPR Music — Tiny Desk Concert

• Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival

• Montreal International Jazz Festival

• Porgy & Bess Jazz Club — Vienna

• Jazz Club Heidelberg — Germany

Selected Honors & Recordings

• Grammy Award Nominee — Best Latin Jazz Album
  Oddara — Jane Bunnett & Maqueque (2018)
  Contribution: bass, vocals; composer of “La Flamenca María”

• Juno Award Winner — Jazz Album of the Year (Group)
  Maqueque — Jane Bunnett & Maqueque (2015)