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Celia Chavez

SAILOR'S DAUGHTER now available on CDBaby & iTunes

About Me


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.
to buy the CD, click the album cover:

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/2/2005
Band Website: celiachavez.net
Band Members: Featured on the record:
Daniel Mintseris, keyboards, toy xylophone, melodica
Steven Elliot, electric and acoustic guitar
Tim Lefebvre, bass
Tony Mason, drums
Daniel Sadownick, percussion
Kiku Collins, trumpet and flugelhorn
Rob Clores, Hammond B3 organ
Ann Klein, electric guitar
James Maddock, electric guitar
Lorenza Ponce, violin

Live in LA:
Mark Goldenberg - guitar
Jon Ossman - bass
Forrest Robinson - drums/percussion

Live band in NYC: personnel rotates, but includes:
Piano/xylophone/melodica: Daniel Mintseris
Guitar: Steve Elliot
Bass: Tim Lefebvre/Jeff Allen/Richard Hammond
Drums: Rich Mercurio/Tony Mason
Percussion: Dan Sadownick/Shane Shanahan
and sometimes David Luther sits in on sax

Upcoming Events by Eventful
Influences: Ella, Billie, Dusty, Elvis Costello, the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Tom Waits, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Blossom Dearie, Cassandra Wilson, Roy Orbison, Cole Porter, Joni Mitchell, Irma Thomas, Candi Staton, Julee Cruise, Marianne Faithfull, Rolling Stones, Sarah Vaughan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Sounds Like:
follow celiachavez at http://twitter.com
Type of Label: None

My Blog

gig at Molly Malone’s Tuesday night!

I'm excited about this gig - my friend Joy is here from NYC, my friend Gaby is playing after, and the band is plugging in for this gig. Yep that's right, a Harmony bass and a drum kit for your electri...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:59:00 PST

Car Trouble, the Girls of Summer, Sounds In My Head, and Dead Heroes

I'm writing to you from a window seat at the UnUrban Coffeehouse in Santa Monica, CA  which is, unlike the coffeehouses I used to love for different reasons in NYC  a return to the type of neighborh...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:51:00 PST

Midsummer update: Myspace, MOG, and Happy Fathers Day!

Reading about the heat wave in NYC makes me grateful for the mild and breezy warmth of SoCal. Strangely, since I'm actually learning to accept that the weather is lovely practically every day here, I'...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:17:00 PST

Midsummer update: Myspace, MOG, and Happy Fathers Day!

Reading about the heat wave in NYC makes me grateful for the mild and breezy warmth of SoCal. Strangely, since I'm actually learning to accept that the weather is lovely practically every day here, I'...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:17:00 PST

Blue Bloom Boom coming into June

Well it's about time for a new newsletter, I thought this week, as NBC just showed a rerun of that Lili Haydn appearance on the Tonight Show that I wrote about last time&.a lot of good things have bee...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Wed, 28 May 2008 01:44:00 PST

Hollywood party crashin’

Dear readers, please forgive that this blog has nothing at all to do with my music. But I just couldn't NOT write about this."Plus One: Tales of a Hollywood Nobody" is a book by Claire Fordham that I ...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Mon, 12 May 2008 09:23:00 PST

Check out this event: Celia Chavez @ Air Conditioned Lounge - Venice

Hosted By: Celia Chavez When: Sunday May 04, 2008 at 8:45 PMWhere: Air Conditioned Lounge - Venice625 Lincoln Blvd.Venice, CA 90291United StatesDescription:Celia Chavez Click Here To View Event...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Sat, 03 May 2008 01:13:00 PST

Me on TV - no foolin!

Hello lovely people!If you’re sitting at home today this Monday night, not long after the clock strikes April Fool’s you can tune into your local NBC affiliate and see yours truly on the T...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:12:00 PST

Spring Awakening

So my best gal in NYC calls me yesterday in what has become our yearly tradition: reporting the first Mr. Softee truck sighting, which, to us, is the sweet and joyful harbinger of spring. That was muc...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:07:00 PST

Julia Fordham dates in Cali

Just back home for a few hours to throw in some laundry and grab a bite before heading to the Roxy for afternoon sound check with Julia Fordham. I definitely count myself lucky to be onstage with her ...
Posted by Celia Chavez on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:25:00 PST