I'm Confessin' is more than just a title. It's also a statement of
purpose. For her solo debut, Raquel Cepeda offers up a diary of moods
and sentiments. "I chose it as the title of the album because each song
really is connected to something very intimate of my own memories," she
notes, having assembled a collection of songs that she loves, songs
about love, and songs to love. Yet more than this, these songs draw
constellations that are bound to intersect with the listener's own. The
title track is iconic in this regard. First made famous by Louis
Armstrong 1930, it finds a new level of intimacy in the version
presented here. Raquel makes it her own, a chain of revelations and open
hearts. The dedication to craft and purpose here is remarkable, as is
the smooth arrangement by internationally renowned Paul English, who
also produces. English has recorded and performed with Dizzy Gillespie,
Dave Liebman, Will Kennedy, among many more, and combines his versatile
talents with those of the legendary Andy Bradley at the mixing board.
Bradley's extensive experience recording such operatic divas as Cecilia
Bartoli and Renée Fleming, not to mention violinist Itzhak Perlman,
gives him an edge in crafting Raquel's voice to the exacting standards
of the music and team assembled.
Included in that team are 18 of the finest jazz musicians Texas has to
offer. At their heart is Paul English on piano, Dean Macomber on drums,
and Jeffrey Eckels on bass. Other notables are trumpeter Dennis Dotson,
saxophonists Warren Sneed and David Céceres, guitarists Brennen Nase and
Guil Fonseca, flutist Bob Chadwick, and percussionists James Metcalfe,
Jorge "Cro-Cro" Orta, and Tony Paraná. http://www.raquelcepeda.com/
