(vocal jazz) Raquel Cepeda - I'm Confessin' - 2013, MP3, 192-320 kbps

Talking about Raquel Cepeda is talking about a multi-talented woman. Raquel is a Geologist and Jazz Vocalist, and also practices other forms of art, including visual arts, writing, and dance.
By Tyran Grillo, 2013
A full-time geologist in the Texas oil industry and jazz vocalist who is also a visual artist, writer, and dancer. In only one person can you find such a package: Raquel Cepeda. The Venezuelan-born and, since 2005, Houston-based chanteuse grew up in a musical family, where the voices of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra turned her on to singing at the tender age of 9. While pursuing a degree in Geological Engineering, she started to perform on campus, first accompanying herself on guitar and later with various pianists. In 1995 she won first place at the Venezuelan “Ucevista” Voice Festival, an intramural competition for aspiring artists that landed her in the studio for her first CD, 2001’s Juegos de Playa, which she recorded with singers Karina Stone, Antonia Toro, and Joanna Vega, along with important jazz musicians from her homeland, including Gonzalo Micó. Nestled among jazz standards and Micó’s originals, Cepeda’s voice bloomed into the recorded world. Though she was already contemplating a solo album at the time, it would be a decade before the chance to realize it would present itself.
While studying music under Paul English, she and the famed producer struck a friendship, and the two began brainstorming what would later become I’m Confessin’. This self-proclaimed “work of heart” represents a melodic leap of intuition, a foray into new personal and emotional depths. Its thirteen tracks represent a variety of places and idioms: American standards, Brazilian bossa novas and sambas, Latin boleros, a Venezuelan tonada, and even a ballad of her own make for a set list that is as holistic as it is diverse. Its combination of four languages represents Cepeda’s multicultural heritages and influences and joins them with a top-flight production team that matches her commitment to affirming music.
“This will be like making a sculpture, with a raw rock that we will be chiseling out until it becomes smooth and unique.” Such was the metaphor that English used to describe the studio process as he and Cepeda set to sketching initial arrangements before stepping into the studio. This artisanal care is apparent in every song, polished until it shone. Listening to Cepeda sing, one can hear the tactile joy in her voice, the amiable passion she brings to every song that falls under her spell. As a perfectionist, she calls upon an unerring sense of purpose to the music at hand. Her working relationship with Paul English and engineer Andy Bradley makes for an unbreakable musical synergy. The three share a belief in the integrity of song, of the feelings it communicates, and seek to translate that for the listener.
Indeed, translation is what the Raquel Cepeda experience is all about. “I think about myself as multicultural,” she says, “and that makes me feel richer as a person. Every time that I visit a new place I feel that something of that place is forever part of me. I like to involve myself not only though the physical knowledge of the place, but also experience it through the language.” Whether in the polyglot approach to lyric or in the idiomatic variety of the arrangements, you can be sure to get your passport’s worth when walking through the gallery of interests in her sound-world. She invites us with her song, all the while holding true to the spirit that moves her, and which is sure to move the listener in kind.

The name is "I'm Confessin'" title of one of the songs included in the album. The truth is, the selection of the songs reflect important memories of my life, but it also goes to the very deep of my cultural and spiritual truths.
Dear all,
The CD is now in the manufacturing plant, and I can't wait for everyone to listen this beautiful piece of work that has kept me so busy for the past year!
The name is "I'm Confessin'" title of one of the songs included in the album. The truth is, the selection of the songs reflect important memories of my life, but it also goes to the very deep of my cultural and spiritual truths, with a song that brings homage to my home land, Venezuela -Tonada de Luna Llena-, and a song of my own, which I did in a moment of intense connection with the higher powers, back in 1995, called 'Me Flechaste el Corazón' (in English, 'You Wounded my Heart with an Arrow').
With little bit of everything, and the promise to keep you away from boredom, this CD could be classified within the 'Latin Jazz' genre, and it's all about diversity. With the sounds of the most rooted swing from New Orleans, to the relaxing sounds of the Bossa Nova, to the passion of the Boleros, the spiciness of the Salsa, and the sweetness of the Ballads. But not only that, the album contains songs in Spanish, English, Brazilian Portuguese, and Italian, which are languages and cultures that are very close to my heart.
The producers, Paul English and Andy Bradley. My fantastic dynamic duo. Two brilliant minds behind the music arrangements and the recording, respectively. How lucky I am. And how much fun we had doing this project! Many weekends immersed in the studio, ensuring that each piece of the whole reflected the caring and the passion that moved us. How many great musicians we got to share with and enjoy in this production. How much joy with every progress on making the sound that we wanted.
The mastering was done in Austin Texas by Jerry Tubb from Terra Nova Mastering Studio, who added a final touch of magic to the overall sound quality of the CD.
The cover of the CD is also a highlight, and I owe that to Lynn Lane, photographer, who endured a whole morning out in Galveston back in October to get the most gorgeous shoots, Diana Simonetta, also photographer, who stayed through and captured important moments during the first two sessions at the studio, and fore and foremost to my cousin Norángel Márquez Gil, graphic designer, who flew from Venezuela to help me design and layout the cover for this project. Did I say how lucky I am?
There will be a pre-release party on Saturday April 13th for friends, fans and collaborators. If you would like to be at the party, make sure you add your email to my distribution list. I can't wait to share this beautiful CD with you, sign your copy and hear your thoughts!
Look forward to seeing you soon!
Raquel Cepeda

Raquel Cepeda: vocals; Bob Chadwick: flutes; David Caceres: alto and tenor saxophones; Warren Steed: tenor and soprano saxophones; Dennis Dotson: trumpet; Paul English: piano, trumpet, flugelhorn; Thomas Hulten: trombone; Brennen Nase: guitar; Guil Fonseca: guitar; Jeffry Eckels: bass; Dean Macomber: drums; Jorge Orta: percussion; Tony Parana: percussion; James Metcalfe: percussion; Marcia Sterling: violin; Oleg Sulyga: violin; Dan Strba: viola; Shino Hayashi: cello.

Оф.сайт :http://www.raquelcepeda.com/