PRESS & LINKS



2025 Grammys: How Two First-Time Nominees Illuminate Latin Jazz:  

"Vega’s story, as documented on As I Travel, is that of an immigrant child escaping brutal political violence, and it’s a poignant one to hear — especially after the second inauguration of Donald Trump, with all eyes on the Southern border."  - JazzTimes, January 2025, by Morgan Enos


"A recording with high-caliber vision and carefully crafted compositions…" Downbeat, 12/2023


"[As I Travel] is one of those collections that consistently engages you as it takes you on a musical journey of nine tunes, is full of interesting twists and turns. You will enjoy all of the stops that Vega makes as he travels." - Jersey Jazz, November 23, 2023, Vol. 51, Issue 10


"Vega can drive Latin-derived themes as well as anyone (¡Baila! Dance Like No One’s Watching) and then turn around a deliver touching ballads in a straight

four-four (Isabel - The Enchanting Nature of You)" -Russell Perry, JazzWeek


"Vega is a luminary whose accolades are rivaled only by the scope of his vision." - Jazz24, December 2, 2023


"...Vega proves to be one of the most exciting pianists on the scene today." - BeBop Spoken Here, October 2023


"Vega’s As I Travel is beautifully rendered and emotionally uplifting. Even the pensive moments pass quickly as Vega consistently expresses positivity and gratitude." - Jim Hynes, Making a Scene, October 23, 2023


"Isabel - The Enchanting Nature of You comes across as graceful, rhapsodic, and downright embraceable." - Ed Enright, Downbeat, December 2023

Volume 90, Number 12


"Always and everywhere melody and harmony is held together by rippling, tumbling rhythms, clearly embedded in body and soul with which Mr Vega leans into his music." - Raul Da Gama, Latin Jazz Net, November 25, 2023


"Vega's piano dances with athletic precision and mesmerizing self-possession...a captivating musical memoir..." - Pierre Giroux, All About Jazz, November 7, 2023


"Love this recording [As I Travel]. Vega could be the new Corea." -Rita Rega, KBOO Radio, Portland


"With the rapt intensity and idiomatic playing throughout, this music goes like the wind, with Mr. Vega’s contrasts in tone and colour turning each chorus of each song into a seductively habitable sound-world into which this prodigiously gifted musician bids us enter… and fall prey to its irresistible charms."  - Raul Da Gama, Latin Jazz Net, November 25, 2023


"Just by the titles of this album, you embark on a journey, even an invitation to travel. The richness of Vega’s music is that of every migrant in the land of the USA – the ability to overlay their own culture on an artistic quest that encompasses that of the host country. The same applies to all other forms of art for every artist who arrives here. This album is fascinating in all these aspects, thanks to Donald Vega’s rhythmic and melodic sensibility. It easily takes us to the end of this album, making it clear that if, like the editors of Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move, you appreciate spicy and well-structured jazz, you’ll understand why we consider it an “Essential.” - Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move, October 18, 2023 


This release exudes openness of expression. I truly feel the energy on the up-tempo pieces (Baila!, Tomorrows II, Alegria, Disturbios) and the charm on mid-tempo and slower pieces (Isabel).  -Cheryl K., Jazzfluxus.com


"...a luminary pianist."  - Bass Magazine, October 6, 2023


"Vega’s voice shifted accents and inflection, speaking volumes on the subjects of structure and improvisation, alternating between whisper and exclamation." - Jake Cudek, Grateful Web, September 22, 2023