Influence & Inspiration 7: Summertime

I *attempt* to pay tribute to one of the greatest of greats, Gershwin.
Though no one can do this song justice quite like Ms. Fitzgerald herself can, here is my humble take on the timeless classic, Summertime, accompanied by my father on rhythm guitar and Ray Calachan on saxophone; with help from Eric Engstrom (drums), Alejandro Rivera (percussion), and Jack Lagonoy (bass).

Route 66

One of my favorite tunes to sing with The Executives band, 

"Get your kicks on Route 66!"

Live at STRUMMS (Makati City)

March 19, 2012

Short Stories 6: Under My Skin, My First Time

It is an absolute joy to entertain people of all ages with music that is timeless.

I was a ball of nerves the first time I took the stage as front-woman of a big jazz band. The thought of singing infront of a huge crowd at the Philippine Fête de la Musique was both exciting and daunting. On June 25, 2011, I embraced the jitters and shakily gave my performance on the main stage at Fort Bonifacio Global City, having just gotten off of a plane from Singapore, literally. 

The music festival crowd:

I was on that stage. (Photo credit: Martin Macalintal)

Thank you to Xavier Virata for these precious stills.

And thank you to Martin Uy & Steph Nguyen for capturing my very nervous first public note! 

*Thank you to The Executives Band for having me, and to Ricky Quiogue for the fun duet! 

*Also, thank you to Ralph Mendoza and the Philippine Young Star team for the introductory write up.

So I caught your attention with a deceiving innuendo, but hopefully this blog post is just as interesting as what you thought you were going to see. ;)

Short Stories: 5 - Sweet Dreams, A Collaboration

A buddy of mine from The Digital Outhouse, Joseph Albert, and I have collaborated on a couple of tracks across the seas via Skype and the magic of Garageband for Mac computers.

There was a time when Joe was living in Taiwan while I was in Sweden, he sent me an audio file of him on the guitar playing Maroon 5's Sunday Morning. I was living in Stockholm in the dead of winter, stuck in my apartment to escape temperatures that dropped as far as -20. One snowy evening, I decided to record my voice over Joe's track, twice.

The result?

Another one of our little projects was a humble rendition of the timeless Beatles classic Across The Universe, also covered by Fiona Apple, and later the title of a movie based on the Beatles discography. Following the same concept as our first collaboration, Across The Universe was produced across-the-seas thanks to the magic of technology. Joe's guitar track was recorded in Singapore, while my vocals were laid on in two parts, first in the Prague, then in Stockholm.

A simple little lullaby to drift off to:

Sweet dreams.

*note: While technology played a huge part in the making of these tracks, there was no auto-tuning involved.

Short Stories: 4 - Teach Me Tonight

What else makes Cara feel small? Singing with a big band.

I had the great pleasure of attempting to cover the classic Teach Me Tonight, a very loose and low-key jam night at home with The Executives Band giving it our own little twist. We were graced by the presence of Jay Cummings, veteran drummer of the Stan Kenton Orchestra who has played with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, and the Glenn Miller band.

Must-see: Dinah Washington's version, Frank Sinatra's version, and of course that of (my greatest influence) Amy Winehouse.

Note: Don't mind my Swiss uncle's little cameo, he's having a good time. Ha ha :)

Did I mention...

... that I sing?

No music. No microphone. No makeup.

Influence & Inspiration: 4

RIP

 Etta James 

1938-2012

Another heavenly voice joins His choir of angels;

Generations upon generations will love you for giving us this gem.

Including current DJ sensation, Avicii.

Thank you, Ms. James.

Influence & Inspiration 1: Who could ask for anything more?

I got rhythm,
I got music,
I got my man - who could ask for anything more?
Ol'man trouble,
I don't mind him,
You won't find him 'round my door.
I got starlight,
I got sweet dreams,
I got daisies - who could ask for anything more?