About Carmen

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Growing up in South Florida, Carmen developed an eclectic musical style at an early age as she studied classical, jazz, rock, R&B, soul, and funk. That mix still shapes everything she writes, from contemporary jazz and neo-soul to R&B and psychedelic rock.

A graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, Carmen has received numerous accolades and awards, including the 2025 Bill Withers Scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a 2021 YoungArts songwriting award, and Outstanding Piano from the Essentially Ellington festival hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center. In addition to writing, co-producing, and performing her own music, she has also worked, studied, and played with such artists and visionaries as Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson Jr., Greg Phillinganes, Jeffrey Allen, Sean Holt, Andy Abad, Doug Petty, Karol G, Cheche Alara, Miguel Gandelman, Victor Wooten, Nestor Torres, Jon Faddis, Sean Jones, Hunter Hawkins, and Kenny Loggins. In 2024, she was selected to open the LA stop of NPR’s Tiny Desk On the Road Tour, and in 2026, she had the tremendous honor of playing keys for Karol G as she became the first Latina artist to headline Coachella.