Bernie Dresel: Drums;
Jimmy Earl: Bass;
Alan Deremo: Bass;
Carlitos del Puerto: Bass;
Toshi Yanagi: Guitar;
Jeff Babko: Keyboards;
Cheche Alara: Keyboards;
Fred Kron: Keyboards;
Lenny Castro: Percussion;
Handark Lozano: Percussion;
Braulio Barrera: Percussion & Background Vocals;
Eric Jorgensen: Trombone;
Lee Thornburg: Trumpet;
Larry Williams: Trumpet;
Albert Wing: Saxophone & Flute;
Cleto Escobedo III: Saxophone;
Bill Esparza: Saxophone;
María Entraigues, Ijeoma Njaka, Charissa Nielsen, Gisa Vatcky, Jessica Pineda: Background Vocals
Cecilia Noël
A Gozár! ~
Cecilia Noël is passionate, flamboyant, exotic, and incredible talented – and on her aptly titled new
CD A Gozár! (to enjoy), she demonstrates why critics have long called her the “Latin Tina Turner.”
“Salsoul”, the genre Noël created to describe her sound, combines elements of salsa, soul, jazz,
funk, and afro-cuban. Featuring smoking hot Latin grooves laced with rapid-fire Spanish lyrics, A
Gozár! is a manifestation of Noël’s love of music and dance and a dedication to her family in her
native Perú. Noël wanted the CD to be “something that you can put on at your party and dance to…
take a little break to dance to the ballad cheek-to-cheek and then dance some more.”
Close to her extended family back in Perú, Noël hopes, more than anything, that this album makes
them proud. “In 1996,” she says, “I went to Perú and I saw how important it was to them that I was
living my vision and inspiring them…and the money I make – all of that money goes back to them.
That re-energized me and motivated me to put this album together.”
The tracks on A Gozár! range from tributes to some of the great Salsa and Cuban artists of the past,
to Noël’s originals, and some of her favorite long-time standards. Written by Rafael Hernández, one
of the most prolific Puerto Rican composers, “El Cumbanchero” references the “party man” or
percussionist. Her choice to record the song was made at the request of her mentally handicapped
cousin, Mateo, who has repeatedly asked her to add it to an album. “La Culebra” is a Cuban
standard that has been part of Noël’s repertoire for many years. It was originally done by Benny
Moré, a famous Cuban band leader and singer in the early 1960’s. “La Cumbita” is a tribute to the
Fania All-Stars (of which Celia Cruz was a member). Put together by Jerry Masucci and Johnny
Pacheco, the band created the salsa movement in the US in the 1970’s. The name of Ismael
Miranda’s “Asi Se Compone Un Son“ translates to “how to write a groove”. The lyrics, says Noël,
“speak to mixing ingredients and cooking slowly because otherwise you’ll spoil the recipe. You have
to make it perfect so that the dancers who are not professionals can feel the groove.”
While “Candela” is “just a little song about fire and flirting with men”, Noël covers heavier topics in
“Tu Condena” which talks about the weight carried by those who betray their friends and “Bolero de
Salon” which, Noël says, “is the song I imagine my father singing to my mom. My father would
drink a lot and this is a song of him regretting that”. Originally recorded in Spanish on Noël’s
Bongoland album, “Carlito’s Way”, was written for the 1993 mafia film of the same name. While it
didn’t make the soundtrack, it remains as one of the originals Noël is most proud of.
A Gozár!, says Noël, “is the soundtrack of my life in a way. These are the songs I’ve enjoyed singing
the most, the ones that get people up and really dancing, and the ones that really blow people
away. I call what I do ‘hardcore salsa’ because nowadays there is a lot of romantic salsa but I’m
more of a punk salsa singer. I hope people will appreciate the intensity and the passion of this
record. It’s not lightweight; I’m the Nine Inch Nails of salsa.”
Originally from Lima, Perú, Noël’s career began at the age of eight with a starring role in a Perúvian
television show called “El Tío Johnny”. As a teenager, Noël's mother Menina Pereira sent her to
Argentina and Germany to take voice, violin, and piano lessons. Encouraged by the legendary Stan
Getz to move to the US, Noël relocated to New York City and briefly performed as a dancer with Jo
Jo’s Dance Factory and Menudo. Noël moved to Los Angeles in 1989, shortly getting involved in the
local artistic movement and in the early 1990s, formed Cecilia Noël and The Wild Clams. A James
Brown meets Pérez Prado band, The Wild Clams received quick attention for their explosive live
shows and were consequently booked at the House of Blues and the Playboy Jazz Festival. Cecilia
Nöel and The Wild Clams released a live concert DVD "Live in Hollywood" in the summer of 2008 and
in December, participated in the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration on PBS/KCET. Noël also
performs and records with husband and former Men At Work frontman Colin Hay.
You can find out lots of info
about all kinds of projects Cecilia has worked on
here!
Influences
THE BEATLES, PEREZ PRADO, JAMES BROWN,
TITO PUENTE, TOWER OF POWER, ISMAEL RIVERA, EARTH WIND & FIRE, ISMAEL
MIRANDA, JIMI HENDRIX, FANIA ALL STARS, COUNT BASIE, SINTESIS (FROM CUBA),
JONI MITCHELL, LOS VAN VAN, BONNIE RAITT AND COLIN HAY!!!
Check out this great review from Descarga.com
Editor's Pick:
This is a really fun video that shows you what the Cecilia Nöel experience is all about – sexy, soulful, sabroso music, fronted by a beautiful lady with zesty vocals, plus alluring female back up singers and dancers, entertaining visuals, and a crack big band that really cooks, whether it’s funk, disco, rock, salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, samba, balada, or a mix of any and all. Listening to her studio CDs only gives you some of an idea of her spirit and commanding presence; the sound quality on the DVD is great, and tracks like “Everybody’s Mambo” and “La Habana Nunca Será la Misma Sin Tí” are infectious and ring true. At first, her frequent use of English on the studio recordings got a little under my skin, but once I saw the video I understood. She’s kind of like a more modern version of La Lupe, a Peruvian Joe Bataan if you will, with plenty of fire and tenderness, and she’s expressing the multicultural world of the Global Village as we live it today. As if that weren’t enough, she calls her band The Wild Clams, and her husband (and sometime collaborator) is Colin Hay, the man behind all the classic tunes of Men At Work, and a fine vocalist and songwriter in his own right. If you think there are not enough Salsa Divas around today, Ms. Nöel is certainly a front-runner for the title of Latin Soul Queen.
Highly Recommended. (Pablo Yglesias, 2008-05-12) Order CECILIA NOËL AND THE WILD CLAMS: Live in Hollywood - DVD
Cecilia Noël & the Wild Clams's Friend Space (Top 18)
EEEEHHHHH CECILIA !!! Como suena esto ! Tremendo ! Super Super ! El deseo que tengas un 2009 pleno de realizaciones y felicidad! Tu amigo de Baires. Abrazote groovero !
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