Carmen Cuesta-Loeb - You Still Don't Know Me
ARTIST.....: Carmen Cuesta-Loeb
TITLE......: You Still Don't Know Me
LABEL......: http://www.skiprecords.com
URL........: http://www.carmencuesta.com
RIP DATE...: Jun-11-2007
STORE DATE.: Apr-02-2007
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 68,3 MB
Track Listing:
01 - aclarate 04:37
02 - llevame 04:11
03 - in the rain 03:31
04 - la paz 04:26
05 - todo para ti 03:31
06 - you still don't know me 04:57
07 - i am thou 04:45
08 - a matter of time 04:44
09 - tarde 04:19
10 - me voy 03:31
11 - religions 04:51
12 - suddenly love 04:39
─────
52:02 min
Release Notes:
Born in Madrid, Spain, Carmen grew up singing from a very early
age. A member of the choirs in both church and school, she was
often asked to be a soloist, as she displayed a natural gift for
singing. At home, she took up the guitar, and self-taught, by the
age of fifteen began composing the lyrics and music to her own
songs. Around this time, while playing and singing at a party with
some friends, she met singer, and now journalist, Jos Martin, of
the group "Somos". Within a short period of time they began doing
concerts as a duo, with Carmen presenting herself as a singer and
composer in public for the first time. With the recording of the
group by the EMI Record Company Carmen got her first taste of
working in the recording studio, and became a published
songwriter. Shortly thereafter, while pursuing her degree in
education at the University of Madrid, Carmen auditioned, and was
asked to join the cast of the show "Godspell" in the role of Mary
Magdalena. And so, at the age of seventeen, she put her studies on
hold to perform both in Madrid, and throughout the rest of Spain
with this theater troupe. The cast included many talented
performers, comedians, actors, dancers and singers, many of whom
later went on to become well known personalities in the world of
Spanish entertainment.
Upon her return to Madrid, Carmen's career, both as a performing
artist and as an in demand studio singer, flourished. Her days
were spent at recording sessions of all types while at night she
was performing in various theatrical productions in Madrid's major
theaters. This did not, however, prevent her from continuing to
develop her talents as a songwriter and artist in her own right.
Her working relationships with other prominent artists and writers
such as Luis Eduardo Aute, Miralles, and Jose Mas (Kitflus) led to
many interesting developments in her own style, while at the same
time she was experimenting with jazz by collaborating with Pedro
Ruy Blas and members of the group "Dolores". These experiences
enriched her writing and singing style and opened the door to many
future involvements with other jazz artists. Carmen also appeared
once in a major film production, "Retrato de Familia" with noted
actor/singer Miguel Bose, but found the movie making experience
very emotionally draining, and decided to focus on music and
theater.
It was in 1979 that Carmen came in contact with jazz guitarist
Chuck Loeb, who she met while he was performing in Madrid with the
legendary jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. Within three months of their
first encounter Carmen and Chuck were married and living in New
York City. One can only imagine the drastic change in Carmen's
life. Only love sustained the hardships of their first years
together. With Chuck still on tour with Stan Getz much of the
time, Carmen found herself alone, jobless and far away from family
and friends in the vast metropolis that is New York City. Slowly
she began to make personal and professional contacts, working at
first in Local Spanish Repertory Theaters, and occasional
recording sessions. Pianist Andy LaVerne, who had been a member of
the Getz group along with Chuck, was so enthralled with Carmen's
singing that he established the group "Paradise" to showcase her
voice and the music written by himself and Carmen. The group also
included bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottleib of the
popular Pat Metheney Band and together they performed for over two
years in many of the well-known clubs in New York.
When Chuck finally left the Stan Getz group the couple had more
time to write music together. This led to the formation of their
own group "Paralelo", a blend of jazz, pop, rock and latin styles.
The band included many notable musicians such as bassist Will Lee,
drummers Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Joey Barron and Steve Ferrone,
pianists Clifford Carter and Mitchel Forman, saxophonists Michael
Brecker, Bill Evans and Bob Mintzer among many others. This
spoiled Carmen to this day, in that she feels the need to surround
herself with only the best, as is evidenced by the line-ups of her
two CD's to date. Her compositional skills were an integral part
of the group's sound, as she either composed or co-wrote almost
all of the material. They performed and recorded for many years in
and around New York City.
At around this same time Carmen was asked to co-host a television
talk magazine show "Imagenes" for SIN, the largest Spanish-
speaking network. She conducted interviews and discussed
developments in the world of arts and entertainment, along with
her co-host Luca Bentivoglio. After a year Carmen became pregnant
with her first child and in 1985 she left the show to focus only
on motherhood. In July of the same year her first daughter
Christina was born and her life took a completely new direction.
Within another year she had Elizabeth, her second daughter, and
devoted herself entirely to her family. Any spare time she had,
she used for her other two loves; tennis and reading. She went
back to college and slowly started to work towards her degree in
English Literature, and achieved her certification as a tennis
instructor. During these years Chuck's career as an in demand
studio guitarist and producer provided an outlet for Carmen's
talents as a composer and singer. In between loads of laundry,
cooking and child rearing, she somehow found time to write songs
and record with such notable artists as Earl Klugh, Nelson
Rangell, Jim Hall, Grover Washington, jr., Larry Coryell, Donald
Harrison, Gato Barbieri, Michael Franks, Spyro Gyra, Till Brunner,
Jon Lucien, Peabo Bryson, Metro, and all of Chuck's CD's.
In 1996 Carmen recorded and released her first CD as a solo
recording artist "One Kiss" and began to step back into the music
world. With the release of her second CD "Peace of Mind" she has
establishes herself as a singer and songwriter with a unique style
and sound, blending her love and knowledge of many musical
flavors, with her mellifluous voice, accompanied by some of the
foremost talents the contemporary music. In the summer of 2000 she
performed for the first time in many years in her native Spain.
The show was at the "Jazz en la Costa" in Granada, and was very
successful. She recently graduated from college with honors, and
continues to devote most of her time to her family, their home in
upstate New York, their dog Steffi and their life and music
together.
With what is now her fourth album under her own name, "You Still
Don't Know Me" opens up new chapters without loosing sight of what
has become a successful concept. She is appearing for the first
time as co-producer for the music and also wrote or co-wrote all
of the songs . Musically the songs mesh seamlessly with the best
moments of previous albums. Sophisticated yet relaxed pop is being
combined with almost casually set jazz solos contributed by such
top-notch artists on the world's stages as saxophonist Michael
Brecker or Germany's jazz ace Till Br?nner on trumpet. Needless to
say, the album is a family affair, too. Alongside with her husband
Chuck Loeb on guitar, daughter Lizzy Loeb can be heard on "La Paz"
in a vocal duet, sung half in English, half en Espanol . Music,
that fits perfectly as soundtrack for winter evenings as for
garden parties in the summertime .