Press release - Gloria Estefan's new album "The Standards" out on September 10, 2013

Gloria Estefan Sings The Standards

New Recording Available From Sony Masterworks on September 10, 2013

From PRNewswire.com & GloriaEstefan.com

 

Photo by Jesus Cordero

 

NEW YORK, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Masterworks releases Gloria Estefan 's The Standards on September 10, 2013. Celebrating great tunes from the American Songbook, The Standards reaches out to Estefan's global fan base via international song classics sung in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French, some with new lyrics written by Estefan herself. The album also features collaborations with world class, award-winning artists like singer songwriter Laura Pausini, violinist Joshua Bell and saxophonist Dave Koz .

 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130430/NY04604)

 

The ambitious project has been "on my back burner for a long time," according to Estefan, who broached the repertoire on Frank Sinatra 's 1993 Duets album (on which she sang "Come Rain Or Come Shine" with Sinatra) and most recently on Tony Bennett 's Viva Duets ("Who Can I Turn To [When Nobody Needs Me]"). "I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra , Johnny Mathis , Henry Mancini and great romance recording artists in Mexico and Cuba," says Havana-born Estefan. "This genre is right up my alley, since music is always a catharsis to me."

 

Estefan waited until now to do a standards album to get "enough life under my belt," she says, "since there are so many torch songs requiring life experience to deliver them with proper credibility." The concept really took off at a trustee dinner at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, where Shelly Berg , who has produced and arranged for artists including Patti Austin , Elliot Smith and Arturo Sandoval , serves as dean.

 

"We sat at the piano just for fun and he asked me to sing a song I performed 30 years ago during our first appearance on the Carson Show," says Estefan, recalling her Tonight Show performance of "Conga," her 1983 breakthrough hit with Miami Sound Machine. It was during this session that she also sang "Good Morning Heartache," the Billie Holiday classic that is now featured on The Standards.

 

"This album brings everything full circle for me!" she says, adding that the tracks were all chosen "by my heart and what I feel." She brought a list of 50 standards to Berg that "spoke to me personally and made me cry." She ended up recording 16 songs live in the studio with a core of four incredibly talented musicians, all maestros of this genre and a wonderful orchestra. 

 

"Something magical happens when musicians record together live," she explains. "Everything unfolded in the way it should have - the stars aligned!"

 

Throughout the recording process, Estefan went for "a sexy, romantic and intimate feel" she says. "I wanted to do an album without an extraneous note, with an economy of music so it would feel really intimate and it would be just enough to express the emotion of the song."

 

Estefan also tried to approach these standards with fresh ideas. "On 'They Can't Take That Away From Me,' for instance, we did it in a completely different way from what anybody's done before, kind of a 6/8, almost Afro-Cuban feel meets the waltz," she says.

 

For Antonio Carlos Jobim 's Brazilian classic "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar," Estefan composed English lyrics for the first-ever English version, "It's You I'll Always Love," and composed Spanish lyrics for "Eu Sei Que Voy Te Amar." She also recorded it in French ("Tu Sais Je Vais T'Aimer"), having studied that language in school. She also composed Spanish lyrics for Charlie Chaplin 's "Smile," on which she duets with Laura Pausini in both Spanish & Italian.

 

"This song always made me cry," she says. " Charlie Chaplin spent his life making people smile and laugh and it's one of the songs that breaks your heart. Recording it was daunting because Michael Jackson did a phenomenal version and so did Natalie Cole . There are so many versions. I wanted to bring my own sensitivity to it because it's been so special to me, and Laura Pausini is amazing."

Argentinean idol Carlos Gardel 's "El Dia Que Me Quieras," for which Estefan wrote the first-ever English translation ("The Day You Say You Love Me"), has a very special significance. "It was the wedding song that Emilio and I danced to!" she relates. "I wanted to record it. It was never done in English, and I wanted it to be as close to the author as possible and I was so inspired.  Before we started doing the record, I wrote the translation.  It's always nice when you can write a standard!"

Sony Masterworks comprises Masterworks Broadway, Masterworks, Okeh, Portrait, RCA Red Seal and Sony Classical imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com.

 

Track Listing

1. Good Morning Heartache
2. They Can't Take That Away From Me
3. What A Difference A Day Makes
4. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
5. Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar
6. The Day You Say You Love Me Feat. Joshua Bell
7. Embraceable You
8. What A Wonderful World
9. How Long Has This Been Going On Feat. Dave Koz
10. Sonrie (Smile) Feat. Laura Pausini
11. The Way You Look Tonight Feat. Dave Koz
12. You Made Me Love You
13. Young At Heart

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SOURCE Sony Masterworks

RELATED LINKS
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Gloria Estefan attends Billboard Latin Music Conference with a special Q&A session

Read the article on Billboard.com:

 

Gloria Estefan Talks Career, Internet, Advice for Young Musicians at Billboard Latin Music Conference

 

 

 

 

 

Gloria Estefan gives fans a chance to see her performing her new album "The Standards" in concert in Miami

Gloria Estefan launched a contest to win tickets for a special concert of her new album "The Standards".

The concert will be taped at the New World Center in Miami Beach on May 16 and aired in August and September on PBS.

25 lucky winners won each 2 tickets.

Winners were picked during a live webcast session.

You can re-watch it here


Congrats to all who won!!

Gloria Estefan's whole career in a 3 minute video

Gloria Estefan's whole career in a 3 minute video

 

Watch here on Youtube

 

Gloria Estefan at TEDx in Rome - video's

Gloria Estefan's TEDx talk in Rome - april 2013

 

Watch here on Youtube

Interview on Youtube

Gloria Estefan meets fans in Rome

Always in for a chat with her fans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloria and fans: Sonsoles, Lenny, Judith,  Richard, Ray, Dennis, Danielle, Ymke, Ingrid & Sandra

Thank you for the pictures!!



Gloria Estefan at TEDx event in Rome

Gloria Estefan spoke today at a TEDx event in Rome

 

 

Religious Freedom Today

Forgiveness & reconciliation

 

 

Gloria spoke about how she & her family coped with her accident and how this all influenced her music.

 

"Coming Out of the Dark" and "Into The Light" were the first words Emilio wrote after the accident. With these words he tried to get Gloria back in the studio to take her mind of her rehabilitation.

 

The whole text of the songs "Coming Out of the Dark" is a thank you to everyone who supported her and a big thank you to God.

 

"It's all about love" she says.

 

I asked Gloria for the exact words of her speech. I hope she sends it because her words are to beautiful not to share with the world.

 

 

Here are some photo's of the event and TEDx said they will have video's next week.

 

 



Explaining the words to her song

"Path of the Right Love"

Remembering her visit to the Vatican in 1995

Explaining the words to her song
"Mas Alla"

 

Gloria tweets about Broadway show

check my short conversation with Gloria about her broadway show!

 

 



Emilio releases Sound Machine headphones

Article Billboard.com: Target Expands Partnership With Emilio Estefan, Releases New Sound Machine Monster Headphones

Article BusinessWire.com: Target and Emilio Estefan Expand Partnership with the Exclusive Release of Sound Machine™ by Monster Headphones

Emilio and Noel Lee from Monster Products

 

 

The Cardozo Hotel

Gloria and Emilio Estefan bought their first hotel - The Cardozo - in 1992. (In 2009, they bought their second hotel in Vero Beach, Florida: Costa d'Este).

This picture was taken in 1992 after the Estefans bought the hotel and were renovating.

photo by AndreasK

 

This is how the hotel looks like today

 

 

 

 

 

I never stayed at one of Gloria's hotels so far so I can't give you a personal opinion about the hotel. In fact, I have never made the trip overseas but it's on my to-do list since most of the fans stay there during Conga Bash. And I have to attend the event some day!!

 

There are a few movies which have been filmed at the Cardozo through the years:

 

• A Hole In The Head
• The Birdcage
• There Is Something About Mary
• Any Given Sunday
• Marley & Me (with a cameo of Gloria and Emilio)

 

The official website: www.cardozohotel.com

You can also follow them on Twitter @CardozoHotel

 

Here is a nice interview with Gloria and Emilio from 2010 about their hotel business.

 

 

 



Gloria Estefan reunites with Sony Music Entertainment - Duet with Laura Pausini on her new album "The Standards"

One of The Most Successful and Influential Global Recording Artists Returns to Her Longtime Home

Source GloriaEstefan.com

 

Sony Music Entertainment is proud to announce the return of international superstar
Gloria Estefan to her longtime label home.

The globally renowned seven-time Grammy award winning singer, songwriter and actress is resuming her incredibly successful, time-tested alliance with Sony Music via a multi-album agreement to develop a diverse array of new projects.

Gloria Estefan has achieved worldwide sales of over 100 million units over the course of her legendary career, and 38 #1 hits across the Billboard charts. Her iconic hits, which include  “Conga,” “Turn The Beat Around,” “Get On Your Feet” and Spanish-language chart-toppers “Con Los Años Que Me Quedan” and“Mi Tierra,” have made an indelible impression on generations of music fans. She also has received countless achievements; including her Oscar nominated song “Music of My Heart,” a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and an American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. Much of her storied music career has been spent as a Sony Music recording artist, beginning with her
years leading Miami Sound Machine.

Welcoming Gloria back to Sony Music, Afo Verde, Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment for the Latin Region, Spain and Portugal, said, “It only takes one word to recognize her magnificent voice. Gloria is one-of-a-kind – in any language, in any genre. She sings better every day! Dearest Gloria, welcome to the place that always was and always will be your home, Sony Music. We are honored, happy and thank you for your trust. The best is yet to come!”

Gloria Estefan expressed her enthusiasm about the alliance and announced her new project: “I'm excited to join again with Sony, who I have happily worked with for over 30 years,” she said. “The Standards, a project which has been a lifelong dream, will be the first of many more to come with my Sony family.”

The expansive, multilingual project The Standards is produced by Gloria herself. She personally selected songs with a deep connection to her life. These include American standards “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Good Morning Heartache,” which she performed at her very first Tonight Show appearance in 1985 with Miami Sound Machine. She also wrote “The Day You Say You Love Me,” a moving English version of the Carlos Gardel tango classic “El Día Que Me Quieras,” the only translation ever authorized by his estate. This gem is dear to her heart as it was her wedding song.  The Standards is co-produced by Grammy Award-winning pianist, producer and arranger Shelly Berg, and Gloria's husband, 19-time Grammy Award winner Emilio Estefan.

Gloria Estefan is already acclaimed for her skill at delightfully reinventing timeless songs – her RIAA Double Platinum album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1994) featured remakes from the 1950s-1970s. Now, with The Standards, she interprets these gorgeous classic songs in English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, and invites world-renowned collaborators including Dave Koz, Joshua Bell and Laura Pausini, The Standards, scheduled for a fall release, furthers Gloria Estefan's reputation as an interpreter par excellence.

A Gloria Estefan album is an event because she always gives us more than we expect – musically, visually and artistically. Her previous album, Miss Little Havana (2011), kept her momentum going strong with the #1 dance club hits “Hotel Nacional” and “Wepa.” Furthermore, with “Hotel Nacional,” Gloria also became the first female artist to debut a song at #1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. Most recently, she performed with Tony Bennett on his Top 10 Viva Duets album.

Bogdan Roscic, President of Sony Classical and Sony Masterworks said, “Masterworks is thrilled to be a marketing partner with Sony Latin and Gloria Estefan on this very special project. It represents another landmark in the career of an artist who continues to be a creative inspiration in all styles of popular music.”

Nir Seroussi, Managing Director of Sony Music U.S. Latin said, “We're very excited that Gloria – one of the greatest ambassadors of Latin music – has returned to Sony, her home, with an extraordinary album that will surely be embraced by her millions of fans.”

With more projects on the way to dazzle and delight her fans, the legendary Gloria Estefan will continue opening doors around the world as a premier artist of the Sony Music Entertainment family.