Media & Booking Materials

Press & EPK

Bios, hi-res photography, video, past venues, and a downloadable press kit.

Elevator Pitch

International jazz vocalist and pianist on Cellar Music. Bilingual English and Spanish, with thirty-five years on stages from the Beverly Hilton to Java Jazz Festival.

Short Bio

Luis Giraldo is a bilingual jazz vocalist and pianist whose repertoire — Great American Songbook, Bossa Nova, modern swing — has carried velvet phrasing across cruise lines, festivals, and concert stages worldwide. Vancouver-based, performing in English and Spanish. Thirty-five years on stages, from Bogotá rock bands and a touring stint with Shakira to four studio albums as a vocal jazz artist. The two most recent — Ready, Willing & Able and I’m Old Fashioned — were recorded at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio for Cellar Music with New York's top jazz sidemen.

Long Bio

Luis Giraldo is a bilingual jazz vocalist and pianist based in Vancouver, performing in English and Spanish on cruise lines, festival stages, and concert halls across the Americas.

Born in Montreal and raised in Bogotá, Luis came to jazz through a route few singers can claim. A Colombian high-school rock band in 1991. The Colombian presidential marching band. A Sony Music rock band, Poligamia, that toured Latin America in the late 90s. A stint as keyboardist and backing vocalist for Shakira, with 40+ shows across North, Central, and South America. The cruise ship rooms where he later played nightly jazz standards drew the line in the sand — and the conversion was complete.

Since 2002, Luis has released four studio albums as a vocal jazz artist. The most recent two — Ready, Willing & Able (2023) and I’m Old Fashioned (2024) — were co-produced with Cory Weeds at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ — the same room where John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk recorded — with New York sidemen including Ben Paterson, Chris Flory, Ed Cherry, Neal Miner, and Jason Tiemann.

His repertoire pairs the Great American Songbook and modern swing with Bossa Nova and Latin standards, drawing on his Colombian roots to land equally in English-speaking and Spanish-speaking rooms. He has performed on Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, and Disney cruise lines, and continues to lead his own band in the Greater Vancouver area. Thirty-five years on stages and counting. Available for festivals, cruise lines, awards shows, corporate engagements, and private events worldwide.

Selected Engagements

  • Vancouver International Jazz Festival
  • Java Jazz Festival — Jakarta, Indonesia
  • The Beverly Hilton — Los Angeles, CA
  • Seabourn Cruise Line
  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Royal Caribbean International

Beyond the headlines: hundreds of private events, weddings, corporate galas, and intimate engagements across a thirty-five-year career.

Maritime & Logistics

Passport
Canada
Nationality
Canadian
Country of residence
Canada — Vancouver, British Columbia

Headshots & Action Shots

High-resolution press images available on request. Email [email protected] with the use case (poster, programme, web) and we’ll send a curated set within one business day.

Full Repertoire

Browse 600+ titles →

Jazz Standards, Brazilian / Bossa Nova, Boleros, Pop & Show Tunes, Christmas. Sight-readable charts available for any configuration.

Press Kit Download

Download EPK (PDF)

Media Contact

[email protected]

Signature Programmes

Three formats designed for the calibre of room you’re booking.

Programme i.

Main Stage

A full-evening concert, sequenced and arranged. Solo piano-vocal at the low end, full big band at the top, with trio, quartet, and quintet configurations in between. Great American Songbook standards, golden-age pop, swing-era favourites, Bossa Nova, romantic ballads, and bilingual repertoire in English and Spanish.

Ideal for

Main-theatre productions · Captain’s cocktail receptions · Formal gala evenings · Sea-day featured entertainment · Festival main stages · Awards-show hosting and entr’acte sets · Corporate galas

Programme ii.

Jazz & Bourbon: A Curated Tasting

An adults-only sensory experience pairing premium spirits with intimate piano arrangements. Luis is both jazz expert and bourbon enthusiast, discussing aging, flavor profiles, and the unexpected parallels between distillation and phrasing while performing live at the piano. Not background music with drinks — an educational, ticketed experience that commands premium pricing.

Format

Intimate groups of 20–40 guests · Exclusive lounges and specialty bars · Marketed as “An Evening of Jazz & Bourbon with International Guest Entertainer Luis Giraldo”

Programme iii.

The Aficionado’s Dinner

The most exclusive offering. Luis hosts a specialty-dining experience for true jazz enthusiasts, functioning as conversational expert and cultural ambassador. Stories from a career touring with Shakira, recording at Van Gelder Studio, and performing alongside the calibre of musicians on the records. Discussion of Jobim’s influence on modern jazz, the evolution from swing to contemporary, and the artistry behind the records guests already love.

Format

Single table of 8–12 guests · Specialty restaurants and Captain’s Table alternatives · Marketed as “Dine with Jazz Vocalist Luis Giraldo: An Intimate Evening for Aficionados”

Programme iv.

Guest Jazz Night

The headliner stepping into intimate space. Luis joins your house band for an evening in a lounge or specialty venue, bringing improvisational depth, an extensive repertoire, and the kind of musicianship that elevates the players around him. The “you had to be there” moment passengers retell for the rest of the voyage.

Ideal for

Late-night programming · Sea-day enhancements · Specialty venue activation · No lift on the main-stage production schedule

Why Luis

Four reasons cruise lines and festivals keep him on the calendar.

Pedigree with reach

Van Gelder Studio sessions and a touring history with Shakira sit beside a repertoire that lands across generations and languages. The credentials translate to filled rooms, not just press notes.

Cultural programming, not just performance

The Jazz & Bourbon and Aficionado’s Dinner programmes turn entertainment slots into enrichment offerings — ticketed, premium, and worth marketing on their own.

Built for multi-night sailings

Four programme formats and a deep chart library mean Luis stays fresh across 7+ day voyages. Main stage, intimate guest set, ticketed tasting, host dinner — no setlist repeats, no novelty fatigue.

Operationally clean

Direct collaboration with entertainment directors. Engraved, sight-readable charts. Clear contracts. Bookings should add value to your production schedule, not friction.

Configurations

From solo to full big band.

Professionally engraved charts. Clearly marked. Sight-readable. Whether self-contained or in full collaboration with your house band, every configuration is rehearsal-ready on arrival.

  • Solo piano-vocal (self-contained, backing tracks available)
  • Trio (piano, bass, drums)
  • Quartet (add guitar or horn)
  • Quintet
  • Sextet through full big band
  • Custom orchestrations on request

Repertoire

Drawn deep, sequenced sharp.

Set lists are tailored to the route, the room, and the audience. Bilingual transitions feel natural, never forced.

  • Great American Songbook standards
  • Golden-age pop classics
  • Swing-era favourites
  • Bossa Nova & Brazilian jazz
  • Romantic ballads & torch songs
  • Adult contemporary jazz
  • Latin jazz
  • Bilingual programming in English & Spanish

Browse the full 600+ title catalog →

Ideal Sailing & Engagement Profiles

Where this programming earns its slot.

  • Ultra-luxury and premium cruise lines
  • Voyages of seven or more days where specialty programming creates variety
  • Caribbean, Mediterranean, and transatlantic itineraries where bilingual repertoire adds value
  • Vessels with dedicated jazz venues or specialty bars
  • Lines targeting mature, affluent passengers who choose timeless over trendy
  • Repositioning sailings with extensive sea days requiring diverse programming

Technical & Operations

Built to simplify your production schedule.

Vocal Microphone
Luis travels with his own wireless mic capsule (Neumann). Compatible handheld transmitter body (e.g., Shure / Sennheiser) provided by venue.
Monitoring
In-ear monitoring preferred — Luis provides his own earbuds. Stage wedges acceptable when in-ears aren’t available.
Piano
Tuned acoustic grand preferred. High-quality stage piano (Yamaha CP-series, Nord Stage, or equivalent) acceptable when an acoustic isn’t available.
Charts & Arrangements
Professionally engraved, sight-readable charts for solo piano-vocal through full big band. Standard configurations: trio, quartet, quintet, and 7-piece (piano, bass, drums, guitar, trumpet, trombone, sax). Custom orchestrations on request.
Support Materials
Full technical rider, stage plot, and promotional assets available on request. Tech rider varies per venue and engagement type.
Communication
Direct collaboration with entertainment directors and technical teams. Prompt, professional, contractually clear.
Languages
English and Spanish performance and stage announcements.
Travel
Worldwide, from Vancouver, British Columbia. Canadian passport.

Ready to book

Begin a booking conversation.

or email [email protected] directly