Carmen Cuesta

The wife of smooth jazz synthesizer, flute and guitar player Chuck Loeb, Carmen Cuesta has established her own reputation as a soulful pop and jazz vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. Having served an apprenticeship as a background singer for Grover Washington, Jr., Michael Franks, Gato Barbieri, Peabo Bryson, Earl Klugh and Jim Hall and a chorus dancer in such musicals as Godspell, Cuesta has been steadily attracting acclaim as a soloist. Her debut 1996 solo album, One Kiss, which featured guest appearances by Bill Evans and Toots Thielemans, was followed by the impressive Peace Of Mind three years later. A self-taught guitarist, Cuesta wrote her own songs before her fifteenth birthday. Although she attended college, she balanced her studies with work in commercials and Spanish musical theater. She moved to New York at the age of twenty-four. Cuesta's appearances in the New York area have featured the stellar accompaniment of such top-notch jazz players as Will Lee, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl and Mitchel Forman. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide