Carmen Cuesta’s Jazzy Boleros in “Toda Una Vida”

“Toda Una Vida” is not your typical Boleros album even though it has mostly Bolero standards. Spaniard singer Carmen Cuesta gives a nice jazzy spin to classic Boleros in her CD with the help of jazz guitarist and husband Chuck Loeb.

“Most singers at one point in their career will want to do a Boleros album…” Carmen told me in an interview with Latino Music Café. “There are so many good Bolero albums out there, that I wanted to give mine something different. I wanted to combine the American influence of Jazz with the Latin essence of the Bolero” said the singer raised in Madrid.

To be able to achieve this beautiful differentiation in “Toda Una Vida”, it helps to work (and be married ) with legendary guitarist Chuck Loeb, who played in Stan Getz´s band. “Collaborating with Chuck allowed me to take (the songs) into a slightly different dimension, a new approach” says Carmen in her press release for “Toda Una Vida” (released January 2014). In our conversation, Carmen said that they wanted to change the tempo of the typical Bolero, but still keeping the essence of the message and feeling of each song.

This extraordinary mix of beautiful Bolero standards with a slightly different musical approach was achieved thanks to Chuck Loeb’s musical mastery as well as the participation of Madrid-based renown musicians. “Toda Una Vida” was co-produced by popular Spanish music producer Paco Ortega and was recorded in Ortega’s Musicgrama recording studio in Madrid.¨

For her 6th album, Carmen Cuesta selected a combination of songs that include renown Bolero standards, a few less known Boleros, and then added one song of her own authorship.

“My first thought was to record less known but beautiful Boleros that people might not be familiar with; but then decided that I also wanted to record some Bolero standards that I really love. To round up the album I thought, ‘why not add one of my own compositions?’, and added “No Te Confundas”.

What I Liked About ¨Toda Una Vida¨

Song Selection – combining renown Bolero standards with a couple of lesser known songs and then adding one of her own compositions created a great song selection that keeps “Toda Una Vida” an interesting listen.

Different Musicality – Chuck Loeb’s musical genius helped add a jazz twist to the musicality of “Toda Una Vida”. The tempos are changed from song to song and it’s not always about adding jazz elements. The instrumentation and styles are customized for each song. Very well done!

Carmen’s Singing – Carmen has a sultry voice that she uses very well to add a sexy, passionate feeling to each song. Her singing is done so that it does not necessarily follow the typical style and tempo given to Bolero standards. Instead she brings her own singing brand to these songs, resulting in an enjoyable album to listen.

Family Concept – I personally liked the fact that “Toda Una Vida” is a family effort. Carmen Cuesta and Chuck Loeb are the main drivers of the album project, including the singing, musical arrangements, photographs, and album production. Their daughter Lizzy Loeb even participated by creating the cover design. A friend of Carmen’s was the one that inspired the album concept in a casual meeting while listening to Boleros one night. All in all, this album was born out of passion for the music, not out of a commercial obligation with a record label!

Missed Opportunities

I don’t think this album missed any opportunities! Me being Puerto Rican, one thing that I missed from this album is a song from one of the 3 great Puerto Rican song writers Rafael Hernandez, Pedro Flores, and Bobby Capó. To me that would’ve round perfectly this album.

My Recommendation About “Toda Una Vida”

“Toda Una Vida” is a beautiful and interesting Boleros album that stands apart from the rest in its unique musicality and singing performance. It maintains the romantic essence of the Boleros, adding a musical twist that makes it refreshingly interesting. Great album to pleasantly surprise your loved one in this month of love.