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The Seattle Times called Celia Chavez "One of Seattle's most tantalizing new voices." just before she made the move to New York City. Her songs evoke a fusion of the moody, earthy beauty of her native Seattle with the cool, modern rhythm of her surroundings in New York and Los Angeles, where she splits her time.

One hears a cinematic exposition and wit in her music with a melodic, harmonic, and lyric vocabulary reminiscent of classic pop songs or American songbook standards. While the sentiments are romantic and the arrangements somewhat minimal, her songs carry an intense contemporary timelessness - standards for a modern era, delivered in a vibrant, assertive new voice. Her debut album, Sailor's Daughter, is an eclectic, intriguing, and engaging mix of Latin, pop, Americana, and vintage soul, the styles united by her warm, inviting vocal style.

Celia’s vocal was recently featured on the recent remake of Jeff Buckley’s song, Last Goodbye by artist/producer Robin Danar. Last Goodbye was in heavy rotation on Los Angeles radio station KCRW’s show, Morning Becomes Eclectic in November 2008. As a backup singer, Celia toured with P!nk and has performed with Julia Fordham, Burning Spear and Tina Sugandh, among others, as well as appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Lili Haydn’s band.

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This stunning debut from peripatetic singer/songwriter Celia Chavez brings to mind Duke Ellington's famous dictum, "There are only two kinds of music: good and bad." "Sailor's Daughter" is not just good; it is superbly and triumphantly unclassifiable.

Drawing from a wide range of influences, Chavez's compositions set flavorful melodies to accessible, sophisticated harmonies and varied rhythms and timbres. Her lyrics are intelligent, thoughtful, and free of cliche or pretension. Chavez also has a knack for production and pacing, coaxing superb, concise performances out of her band and adding sounds and effects to the mix with a sure hand. But her voice alone (a sultry, textured instrument) would command attention: her reworking of "Moon River" spotlights her mastery of phrasing and mood as well as her imagination and taste.

There is not a glib or shallow moment anywhere on "Sailor's Daughter," which sounds nothing like a first album. It is the work of an artist who knows exactly what she wants to say and how to say it, and could have been made by no one else. Any fan of intelligent, female-fronted popular music will find the "Sailor's Daughter" an enchanting companion.

- Andy Bassford, freelance music writer

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