Erika Luckett

Mexican jazz musician Erika Luckett was a world traveler and multi-talented member of Wild Mango before she chose a career as a solo artist. Although born in Mexico, most of her youth was spent in Venezuela and Brazil while she absorbed the various cultural music experiences she encountered. She moved to France as a teenager, performing in subways and eventually enrolling in the Berklee School of Music. She received a degree in film scoring and immediately began a streak that included several award nominations for her film and TV work. Luckett helped form Wild Mango in San Francisco soon after, touring and recording with the jazz ensemble until 1999, when she decided to move into a solo career. Blending her Latin roots with her passion for funk and jazz, she released Tinted Glass the same year and developed her percussive guitar style. Two years later, My Little Crime unveiled a progression into stronger songwriting and gained her recognition from guitar magazines and jazz fans. In 2002, The New Orleans Sessions appeared, featuring her first solo live recordings from three Louisiana shows.